Secret Service Foils Plot to Crash NYC Cell Network

A massive illegal electronic device network capable of crippling cell towers and jamming 911 calls across New York City was uncovered by the Secret Service — just as world leaders prepared to descend on Manhattan for the UN General Assembly, officials said Tuesday.

Investigators discovered the trove of devices — including more than 300 co-located SIM servers and 100,000 SIM cards – at multiple locations within 35 miles of the United Nations.

Officials warned the devices had the capability of carrying out a wide-range of telecommunications attacks — including spamming networks with up to 30 million text messages a minute — that could have had “catastrophic” consequences for the city.

Investigators also believe the networks could be tied to making spam threats to US officials, and had communicated with people in foreign countries.

The feds are investigating whether the devices have ties to a foreign government.

“Given the timing, location and proximity and potential for significant disruptions to the New York telecoms system, we moved quickly to disrupt this network.”

When agents ultimately raided the locations, they uncovered rows of servers and shelves stacked with SIM cards – including more than 100,000 that had already been activated, as well as a large number still waiting to be deployed, McCool said.