US Secret Service dismantled covert communications network near the U.N. in New York

The U.S. Secret Service uncovered a covert communications network near the U.N. in New York, seizing 100,000 SIM cards and 300 servers. The operation, capable of sending 30 million texts per minute, could disable cellular towers and conduct surveillance on a massive scale, raising new concerns over mobile network security.

“This protective intelligence investigation led to the discovery of more than 300 co-located SIM servers and 100,000 SIM cards across multiple sites.” The dismantled cache was a full parallel network composed of racks of servers with 100,000+ SIMs that could flood carriers, disrupt services, or launch mass phishing campaigns.

Beyond outages, experts warn it could enable espionage, eavesdropping, or tracking officials. A preliminary analysis of the SIM cards showed links to a foreign nation and criminal groups.

“This looks sophisticated and expensive — my instinct is espionage,” said Anthony J. Ferrante, a former White House cybersecurity official. Researchers believe that only a handful of countries such as Russia, China, or Israel would have the resources and capabilities to set up such a network.

To read the complete article see: Security Affairs.