The U.S. Secret Service says it has dismantled a stockpile of devices in the New York area that were “capable of crippling telecom systems and carrying out anonymous telephonic attacks,” as world leaders arrive in the city for the UN General Assembly.
The agency said it discovered the network of electronic devices that were used to “conduct multiple telecommunications-related threats directed towards senior U.S. government officials” and could send up to 30 million text messages a minute.
They discovered the devices within 35 miles of the UN’s headquarters.
Devices could be used to disable phone towers and facilitate anonymous, encrypted communication between potential threat actors and criminal enterprises, the agency said.
“The potential for disruption to our country’s telecommunications posed by this network of devices cannot be overstated,” said U.S. Secret Service Director Sean Curran. “The U.S. Secret Service’s protective mission is all about prevention, and this investigation makes it clear to potential bad actors that imminent threats to our protectees will be immediately investigated, tracked down and dismantled.”
President Donald Trump is due to speak at the UN Tuesday morning while dozens of other world leaders are also in town for the annual event.
“It can’t be understated what this system is capable of doing,” said Matt McCool, the special agent in charge of the Secret Service’s New York field office. “It can take down cell towers, so then no longer can people communicate, right? …. You can’t text message, you can’t use your cell phone. And if you coupled that with some sort of other event associated with UNGA, you know, use your imagination there, it could be catastrophic to the city.”
Experts said the operation was sophisticated.
“My instinct is this is espionage,” Anthony J. Ferrante, a cybersecurity expert who previously served at the White House and the FBI, told the New York Times.
James A. Lewis, a cybersecurity researcher at the Center for European Policy Analysis in Washington, told the outlet that only a handful of countries, including Russia, China and Israel, could pull off such an operation.
Officials said there are no known credible threats to New York City.
The New York Police Department, the Justice Department, Homeland Security Investigations and the office of the director of national intelligence are investigating.
