Secret service dismantles 'imminent threat' near the UN General Assembly meeting
The US Secret Service has dismantled a network of electronic devices near the meeting of world leaders at the United Nations General Assembly in New York.
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The service discovered more than 300 co-located SIM servers and 100,000 SIM cards across multiple locations in the New York tristate area, which were used to conduct telecommunications threats directed towards government officials.
The devices were found within 35 miles of the UN General Assembly, which prompted the service to move quickly to disrupt the network.
As well as carrying out anonymous telephone threats, the devices were also capable of "disabling cell phone towers, enabling denial of services attacks and facilitating anonymous, encrypted communication between potential threat actors and criminal enterprises."
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It is believed that they were being used by "nation-state threat actors" and people already known to law enforcement officials.
"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 later today, where he will discuss his "vision for the world".
Investigations into the discovery are ongoing.