[German]The US Secret Service has dismantled a secret network consisting of over 300 SIM servers with hundreds of SIM cards scattered across New York. These SIM servers could have overloaded the mobile phone stations in New York, where the United Nations is located, in the event of an attack.
The Secret Service has dismantled a network of more than 300 SIM servers and 100,000 SIM cards in the New York area that could be used to paralyze telecommunications systems and carry out anonymous telephone attacks. This is according to the following tweet and this press release from the Secret Service.
These devices were located within a 56 km radius of the United Nations General Assembly World Congress currently taking place in New York City. According to a statement by the US Secret Service, the dismantled network, consisting of electronic devices in the New York area, was used or could have been used for multiple attacks on the telecommunications systems of high-ranking US government officials.
In addition to making anonymous threatening phone calls, these devices enabled a wide range of telecommunications attacks. These included disabling cell towers, carrying out denial-of-service attacks, and facilitating anonymous, encrypted communication between potential threat actors and criminal enterprises.
The network posed an immediate threat to the agency's security measures, it said. Therefore, the secret service decided to take action. The seizure of the devices defused a threat before world leaders arrived at the UN General Assembly, according to the above tweet.
"The capabilities of this system cannot be overstated," The Guardian quotes Matt McCool, the special investigator in charge of the Secret Service's New York field office. "It can disable cell towers, preventing people from communicating."
The forensic examination of these devices is still ongoing. According to the Secret Service statement, initial analyses indicate mobile communications between threat actors from other countries and individuals known to federal authorities. The Secret Service statement suggests that the network of SIM card servers had a criminal background. It was intended to conceal communications and be used for possible criminal activities.
