US shuts down clandestine network capable of disrupting communications during UN high-level meet

New York, Sep 24 (IANS) A huge clandestine network using more than 1,000 SIM cards and 300 servers capable of creating havoc with mobile phone and emergency communications systems during the UN high-level meeting has been shut down, according to US officials.

“Nation-state threat actors” are behind the plot, the Secret Service said on Tuesday, but provided no specifics about those responsible, although the terminology suggested a connection to a foreign government.

“The potential for disruption to our country’s telecommunications posed by this network of devices cannot be overstated,” Secret Service Director Sean Curran said.

The Secret Service said in a statement that the networks were used for “telecommunications-related threats directed towards senior US government officials.

“These devices were concentrated within 35 miles of the global meeting of the United Nations General Assembly now underway in New York City”, it said.

"Given the timing, location, and potential for significant disruption to New York telecommunications posed by these devices, the agency moved quickly to disrupt this network”, it said.

More than 150 heads of government and state, as well as top diplomats from around the world, are gathered here for the annual event.

The networks were taken down before world leaders arrived for the UN General Assembly, the Secret Service said.

The Secret Service did not give the exact locations where the devices were found.

It said that “early analysis indicates cellular communications between nation-state threat actors and individuals that are known to federal law enforcement”.

The network had the ability to disable cell phone towers, set off denial of services attacks, and facilitate anonymous, encrypted communication between “potential threat actors and criminal enterprises”, the Secret Service said.

One of the ways the system could disrupt communication systems is through denial-of-service attacks, which jam them with thousands of simultaneous calls to overwhelm and shut them down.

--IANS

al/rs