100,000 SIM cards dismantled, 300 servers found: US Secret Service foils plot to disrupt NYC cell network during UNGA

In a major development, the US Secret Service on Tuesday (Sep 23) said it had dismantled a network of more than 100,000 SIM cards that could have crashed New York's telecommunications network ahead of the UN General Assembly. The Advanced Threat Interdiction Unit, along with the Department of Homeland Security, the Office of the Director of National Intelligence, the New York Police Department, and other state and local law enforcement agencies, were involved in the operation. The team traced the swatting signals to an apartment just outside New York City, but no one was found in that apartment. The secret service said that these devices were capable of disabling cell towers, launching denial-of-service attacks, and enabling encrypted communication between threat actors — including possible nation-state links. Concentrated within 35 miles of the ongoing UN General Assembly, the threat prompted rapid intervention by the Secret Service’s Advanced Threat Interdiction Unit. World leaders have gathered in New York City for the UNGA session that is dominated by calls for Palestinian recognition and urgent action on Gaza. US President Donald Trump will address the session today (Sep 23).

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The US Secret Service, in a statement, said, “In addition to carrying out anonymous telephonic threats, these devices could be used to conduct a wide range of telecommunications attacks. This includes disabling cell phone towers, enabling denial of services attacks and facilitating anonymous, encrypted communication between potential threat actors and criminal enterprises.” The operation involved multiple federal and local agencies and remains under active investigation.

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This comes after a series of technical breakdowns at the United Nations on Sep 22 left world leaders struggling to be heard as they addressed the General Assembly on Gaza and Palestinian statehood. Microphone failures interrupted speeches by Türkiye’s President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Canada’s Prime Minister Mark Carney, and Indonesia’s President Prabowo Subianto. Earlier, a UN staff member had said that the glitches during the speeches of world leaders happened due to equipment faults in the General Assembly hall, and insisted that there was “no indication” of deliberate interference.

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