Secret Service Destroys NYC Doomsday Cell-Phone Network That Could Shut Down the City’s Cellular Grid
The US Secret Service says it uncovered and neutralized a network of devices capable of shutting down New York City's entire cellular network. The network was linked to a wave of swatting calls aimed at government officials earlier this year. In a five-safe-house sweep around the city, agents seized more than 100,000 SIM cards and 300 SIM servers, along with 80 grams of cocaine, illegal firearms, and numerous computers and cell phones. An unnamed official told the New York Times that the network could send 30 million text messages per minute, underscoring the scale of the threat.
In This Article:
A Hidden Infrastructure: Five Safe Houses Ring NYC with Thousands of SIMs
The devices formed a circle around New York City’s cellular backbone, a sprawling hidden infrastructure that could have upended communications for millions. Authorities found five safe houses in or around the city: Queens (New York), Armonk (New York), Greenwich (Connecticut), and locations in New Jersey. All were unoccupied at the time of discovery. Beyond the hardware, investigators recovered illegal drugs, firearms, and a cache of computers and mobile devices, signaling a well-funded operation designed to control information flows.
What the Network Could Do: From 12-Minute Text Bombs to Disabled Cell Towers
These devices enabled anonymous, encrypted communications between potential threat actors and criminal enterprises, allowing them to operate undetected. This network had the potential to disable cell phone towers and essentially shut down the cellular network in New York City. CNN’s coverage illustrated the fear: the network could have sent an encrypted and anonymous text to every person in the United States within 12 minutes, blotting out access to the city’s cell towers and stopping Manhattan from using Google Maps.
Swatting, Safety, and the UN Question: The Shadow of a High-Stakes Plot
So far, the threats officials have traced back to the network have been smaller in scale, but swatting calls—the dangerous harassment tactic that lures emergency responders to fake threats—were a hallmark of the case. The targets included government officials, including some from the Secret Service. Right now, authorities are considering whether the operation could’ve targeted the United Nations General Assembly. There is no specific evidence of an UN attack, but the possibility has not been ruled out. An industry expert suggested the scale could point to espionage.
The Mystery Deepens: Who Was Behind It and What Comes Next
No arrests have been announced. McCool speculated that a foreign government could’ve been behind the operation, but he also floated the possibility of cartels, human traffickers, or terrorists—the distinctions between which have blurred in some political rhetoric. “This is an ongoing investigation, but there’s absolutely no reason to believe we won’t find more of these devices in other cities.” Officials also noted that espionage or eavesdropping motives could underlie such a deployment. Anthony Ferrante, global head of cybersecurity firm FTI, told the NYT that the sheer amount of equipment near UN headquarters “instinctively” points to espionage potential.
