U.S. Secret Service Shuts Down 300 SIM Servers and 100K SIM Cards Disabling Cell Towers

According to the U.S. Secret Service, agents dismantled a network of more than 300 co-located SIM servers and 100,000 SIM cards deployed at multiple locations, created to conceal the source of communications and enable rapid rotation of numbers and identities. The devices were found in clusters within a 35-mile radius of the United Nations General Assembly meeting in New York City, and the operation aimed to neutralise imminent threats to protective operations for senior government officials.

Forensic analysis is ongoing, with early findings suggesting the network could disable cell towers, launch denial-of-service attacks on critical communications, and facilitate encrypted messages between national-state actors and criminal enterprises.

The takedown was led by the Secret Service’s Advanced Threat Interdiction Unit, with key support from Homeland Security Investigations, the Department of Justice, the Office of the Director of National Intelligence, and the New York Police Department, while state and local agencies provided additional technical aid. Official remarks highlighted the potential disruption to telecommunications posed by the network and stressed that the investigation remains active as data is analysed.