Cybersecurity Policy Report, Secret Service Dismantles Telecom-Related Threats in New York City Region, (Sep 23, 2025)
Organizations Mentioned:Director of National Intelligence | U.S. Secret Service
By Paul Kirby
The U.S. Secret Service today announced that it had “dismantled a network of electronic devices located throughout the New York tristate area that were used to conduct multiple telecommunications-related threats directed towards senior U.S. government officials, which represented an imminent threat to the agency’s protective operations.”
The threat came as the United Nations General Assembly was meeting in New York City. The Secret Service said in a news release that the devices “were concentrated within 35 miles” of the meeting.
The agency said the investigation, which was aided by numerous federal, state, and local agencies, “led to the discovery of more than 300 co-located SIM [subscriber identity module] servers and 100,000 SIM cards across multiple sites.
“In addition to carrying out anonymous telephonic threats, these devices could be used to conduct a wide range of telecommunications attacks,” it added. “This includes disabling cell phone towers, enabling denial of services attacks and facilitating anonymous, encrypted communication between potential threat actors and criminal enterprises.”
It said that although “forensic examination of these devices is ongoing, early analysis indicates cellular communications between nation-state threat actors and individuals that are known to federal law enforcement.”
“The potential for disruption to our country’s telecommunications posed by this network of devices cannot be overstated,” said 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.”
“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. The U.S. Secret Service’s Advanced Threat Interdiction Unit, a new section of the agency dedicated to disrupting the most significant and imminent threats to our protectees, is conducting this investigation,” the news release added.
The Secret Service said the Department of Homeland Security’s Homeland Security Investigations, the Department of Justice, the Office of the Director of National Intelligence, and the New York Police Department “provided valuable technical advice and assistance in support of this investigation,” as did “other state and local law enforcement partners.”
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