Secret Service dismantles SIM farm network near NYC ahead of UNGA

Federal agents have dismantled a network of electronic devices in the New York area capable of crippling telecommunications and facilitating anonymous telephonic attacks, the U.S. Secret Service announced Tuesday, days after world leaders began arriving for the United Nations General Assembly. The agency said investigators recovered more than 300 SIM card servers and roughly 100,000 SIM cards at several locations within about a 35 mile radius of Manhattan.

The Secret Service said the infrastructure was used to direct a series of telecommunications threats at senior U.S. government officials and had the capability to disable cell towers, enable denial of service attacks and support encrypted, anonymous communications between potential threat actors and criminal enterprises. The agency said the potential for disruption to the country’s telecommunications posed by the network cannot be overstated.

“Given the timing, location and potential for significant disruption to New York telecommunications posed by these devices, the agency moved quickly to disrupt this network,” Secret Service Director Sean Curran said in the statement. He added that the protective mission of the agency is...