The Secret Service said Tuesday it had dismantled a vast network of electronic devices in the New York metropolitan area that officials say posed an imminent threat to senior U.S. government officials and the city’s telecommunications infrastructure as the United Nations General Assembly convenes in Manhattan.
Matt McCool, special agent in charge of the Secret Service’s New York Field Office, said on Sept. 23 that the action followed a months-long protective intelligence investigation that began earlier this spring after multiple telecommunications-related threats were directed at senior government officials.
“This was a difficult and complex effort to identify the source of these fraudulent calls and the impact on the Secret Service protective mission,” McCool said.
He emphasized that the recovered devices no longer pose a threat to New York or the surrounding region. Investigators are now working to determine who was behind the network and what their intent was — including whether the operation was meant to target the U.N. gathering or interfere with communications used by government and emergency personnel.
The investigation, carried out with federal, state and local partners, led agents to sites across the tristate area, where they discovered tens of thousands of co-located and networked cellular devices.
Authorities said the equipment was capable of carrying out a range of telecommunications attacks.
“These devices allowed anonymous, encrypted communications between potential threat actors and criminal enterprises, enabling criminal organizations to operate undetected,” McCool said. “This network had the potential to disable cell phone towers and essentially shut down the cellular network in New York City.”
The discovery came as world leaders gather this week in Midtown Manhattan for the U.N. General Assembly. Officials said the concentration of devices within 35 miles of the event, combined with the potential for major disruption, prompted the Secret Service to move quickly.
“Given the timing, location and proximity and potential for significant disruptions to the New York telecom system, we moved quickly to disrupt this network,” McCool said.
Forensic teams are examining the equivalent of 100,000 cell phone data sets. According to McCool, early analysis points to cellular communications between foreign actors and individuals already known to federal law enforcement.
“Given the sensitivity and complexity of this investigation, we are not able to go into specifics at this time,” McCool said. He added that the inquiry remains active and open, with no arrests announced so far.
The investigation has drawn on technical support from Homeland Security Investigations, the Department of Justice, the Office of the Director of National Intelligence and the NYPD, along with other state and local agencies.
McCool said the announcement was made “as a matter of public interest” given the amount of equipment recovered, the concentration of devices in the New York area and the ongoing gathering of world leaders.
“This announcement is designed to safeguard critical infrastructure and responsibly provide the public what we can at this time,” he said. “The Secret Service will continue to run down all leads until we fully understand the intent of the operation and identify those responsible.”
