As world leaders gathered in New York City to attend the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA), the United States Secret Service quietly dismantled a massive telecommunications system hidden in New York and its surrounding areas.
The Secret Service announced on Tuesday (September 23rd) on its X platform that this “secret network,” comprised of over 300 servers and 100,000 SIM cards, was one of the largest communication threats discovered on U.S. soil. Once activated, it could cripple wireless communications across the entire city of New York within minutes, disrupting 911 emergency calls and having catastrophic consequences for city security.
“This network has the potential to disable cellphone signal towers, ultimately leading to the shutdown of New York City’s cellular network,” said Secret Service Special Agent in Charge Matt McCool in a video released by the agency.
He warned that if this system were activated during significant events like the United Nations General Assembly, New York City could lose wireless communication capabilities instantly, hindering everyday contact and emergency responses – with potential impacts similar to the cellular network disruptions following the 9/11 terrorist attacks and the Boston Marathon bombing.
According to the Secret Service, this system was spread across multiple locations within a 35-mile radius from the United Nations headquarters, functioning like hundreds of thousands of fake cellphones – capable of sending up to 30 million text messages per minute or generating a large number of fake calls, causing local cellular networks to be overloaded and paralyzed. The scale of this equipment required millions of dollars in investment, described as a “well-funded, highly organized operation.”
The discovery stemmed from the Secret Service’s investigation into communication threats against high-ranking officials. Initial analysis indicated that the system may have been controlled by “actors engaging in nation-state behaviors,” potentially used for encrypted communication with transnational criminal groups, drug trafficking organizations, and terrorists. While there is currently no evidence suggesting a direct attack conspiracy targeting the ongoing UNGA, the Secret Service emphasized that the threat was “imminent.”
When Secret Service investigators arrived at the scene, they found rows of server racks and stacks of activated SIM cards, with over 100,000 already in use and a significant number of spare cards awaiting deployment, indicating that operators were planning to expand the scale further.
Secret Service Director Sean Curran stated in a release, “This operation clearly demonstrates that any urgent threats posed to our protection subjects will be promptly traced and dismantled.” He also warned that other U.S. cities may have similar hidden networks, highlighting the underestimated threat they pose.