Secret Service seizes 300-server, 100k-SIM network capable of shutting down NYC's cell service

[Kaido]

U.S. Secret Service dismantles imminent telecommunications threat in New York tristate area | United States Secret Service

www.secretservice.gov

* New York Tri-state area (similar networks were found in California & the Midwest)
* 300 servers
* 100,000+ SIM cards

Maybe a secret Bitcoin millionaire playing Pokemon go

the network was capable of sending 30 million text messages per minute, anonymously. The official said the agency had never before seen such an extensive operation.

it could have sent an encrypted and anonymous text to every human being in the United States within 12 minutes

the Secret Service said its early analysis suggests the US operators of the SIM farms were at least coordinating with nation-state threat actors to carry out their attacks.

the UN General Assembly taking place this week in New York, it is possible that the system was designed to spy on or disrupt delegates, but the gear was found in various places up to 35 miles from the UN. BBC reporting suggests that the equipment was "seized from SIM farms at abandoned apartment buildings across more than five sites," and the ultimate goal remains unclear.

Investigators are still probing who is responsible but believe perps from certain countries used the system to send encrypted messages to organized crime groups, cartels and terrorist organizations.

A massive illegal electronic device network capable of crippling cell towers and jamming 911 calls across New York City was uncovered by the Secret Service — just as world leaders prepared to descend on Manhattan for the UN General Assembly, officials said Tuesday.

Investigators discovered the trove of devices — including more than 300 co-located SIM servers and 100,000 SIM cards – at multiple locations within 35 miles of the United Nations.

More than 100,000 were already active, investigators said, but there were also large numbers waiting to be deployed, evidence that operators were preparing to double or even triple the network’s capacity, McCool said. He described it as a well-funded, highly organized enterprise, one that cost millions of dollars in hardware and sim cards alone.

law enforcement sources said that similar operations had been uncovered in California and the Midwest in recent weeks.

https://www.cnn.com/2025/09/23/us/swatting-investigation-server-network-discovered

 

[nakedfrog]

Hopefully an operation of that scale gave them leads...

 

[BoomerD]

Person of Interest?

 

[IronWing]

I’d say keep an eye on government surplus auctions but I can’t think of a single legitimate use for the equipment.

 

[ivwshane]

Good, hopefully I’ll stop getting so much f-ing spam on my phone!

 

[MomentsofSanity]

Let me guess… trans…..




mitters

 

[eelw]

Well at least one federal law force team still doing their job

 

[Kaido]

Person of Interest?

Under wraps for the time being

 

[Kaido]

I’d say keep an eye on government surplus auctions but I can’t think of a single legitimate use for the equipment.

Boost your social media popularity! haha

 

[Pens1566]

Lots of "could have" or "capable of" and "possibly used for" in those reports.

 

[HomerJS]

A few thoughts...

Is "capable of" a crime. Last time I check amassing a bunch of IT equipment isn't a crime.

If one of the leaders of this is a FOT there will be no consequences.

Because this is the Trump administration there will likely be information that is completely untrustworthy.

 

[WilliamM2]

Fake news?

 

[FelixDeCat]

How did they acquire all that without arousing suspicion? Crazy.

 

[Kaido]

How did they acquire all that without arousing suspicion? Crazy.

 

[nakedfrog]

That doesn't seem too safe... I mean, shouldn't he be wearing a helmet?

 

[lxskllr]

That Secret Service SIM farm story is bogus

It's just normal crime

cybersect.substack.com

edit:
Oh, I think you need to comment on posts here, right? More bullshit from the government. It's not even real bullshit. You can get energy from real bullshit. Theirs saps energy.

 

[nakedfrog]

That Secret Service SIM farm story is bogus

It's just normal crime

cybersect.substack.com

edit:
Oh, I think you need to comment on posts here, right? More bullshit from the government. It's not even real bullshit. You can get energy from real bullshit. Theirs saps energy.

Interesting. I would have been more suspicious at the outset if they'd provided some sort of specific bogey, but it was quite vague, and I could see the value in causing chaos with cell networks if one was going to be planning an incident.

 

[trenchfoot]

Well at least one federal law force team still doing their job

The only way that could've happened is if Trump, Patel and Noem had absolutely nothing to do with it. Otherwise, Trump would expose it before the bust, Patel would prematurely claim credit for it and Noem would want to hold the raid up just before the kickoff to take Cosplay shots of herself all dressed up in assault gear while pointing her locked and loaded tricked out M4 at some innocent Federali standing next to her...again.

 

[artvscommerce]

That doesn't seem too safe... I mean, shouldn't he be wearing a helmet?

i suspect whoever is in his path may need a helmet even more than he does

 

[Kaido]

That Secret Service SIM farm story is bogus

It's just normal crime

cybersect.substack.com

haha

It's just normal crime

How a SIM farm like the one found near the UN threatens telecom networks

The U.S. Secret Service has found and is quietly dismantling a massive network of “SIM farms” across the New York area just as world leaders gather for meetings at the United Nations.

apnews.com

Some outside experts questioned whether the SIM farms could have produced the disruption suggested by officials. The number of servers and SIM cards seized would not likely destabilise networks built to handle millions of users in the New York area, said Mr Alexander Urbelis, chief information security officer of Ethereum Name Service.

“It’s common to confuse proximity with intent and find conspiracies in coincidence,” he said. Finding a SIM farm of this magnitude, he said, “is more likely indicative of a criminal enterprise focusing on high-volume fraud through SMS phishing rather than on an operation interested in disrupting the UN General Assembly”.