Massive Rogue Telecom Threat Uncovered by the Secret Service in NYC

[alarmguy]

Wow, threat to cripple New York City cell service undercover by our Secret Service.
A system built and hidden across the New York area made up of more than 300 SIM servers and OVER 100,000 SIM cards that could knock out cell communications in NYC.

Special agent in charge "It can't be understated what this system is capable of doing"
Rows of servers and more than 100,000 SIM cards were already active. Well funded at a cost of millions of dollars.
Capable of sending 30 MILLION text messages a MINUTE.
System was also upgradeable to add more.
Suspected Nation State Actors already being used to send encrypted messages to criminal elements.

PLEASE NO POLITICS - I am curious of the thoughts of people who may know this stuff more intimately and how it got set up, type of know/how that must have been used to do it and the use of this type of equipment. It looks like our agencies caught it in time, though now they feel to think, this is the only one might be naive.

Personally it's kind of creepy that they did this within 35 miles of the UN and I think multiple locations, TONS of equipment. What was the ultimate plan?
Some of the information above came from this source, though its all over the headlines today.
https://www.newsmax.com/us/unga-threat-telecom/2025/09/23/id/1227473/

DIRECT FROM THE SECRET SERVICE - this tells the story of what I have been trying to convey. WOW
https://www.secretservice.gov/newsroom/releases/2025/09/us-secret-service-dismantles-imminent-telecommunications-threat-new-york

 

[JohnnyG]

Just call them back!

 

[KrisZ]

A system like this can be literally implemented anywhere in the world to flood a specific cellphone network. Not sure why it would have to be located in NYC.
So they found something, but are making the potential threats up, as they go along, likely to boost their PR image.

 

[cptbarkey]

A system like this can be literally implemented anywhere in the world to flood a specific cellphone network. Not sure why it would have to be located in NYC.
So they found something, but are making the potential threats up, as they go along, likely to boost their PR image.

I agree, not really worthy of further discussion.

 

[SwampSurvivor]

Part of me wonders if this was just a big / cheap way to send mass spam text messages about my car's extended warranty

 

[Speedbird001]

That's crazy. Obviously significant investment there... someone must have been serious about something.

I guess they are going to try even harder to reach me about my cars expiring warranty

 

[alarmguy]

Here is some more information for those who may know about this stuff.
BTW_ this is not only about flooding networks, it's about criminal actors and most likely state sponsors who provided the millions of dollars in equipment to also target government officials. Im surprised at some comments here. Maybe society getting a little complacent until the next big event one day? One cant honestly think this doesnt go any deeper.

"Officials also warned of the havoc the network could have caused if left intact. McCool compared the potential impact to the cellular blackouts that followed the Sept. 11 attacks and the Boston Marathon bombing, when networks collapsed under strain. In this case, he said, attackers would have been able to force that kind of shutdown at a time of their choosing."

"An extensive, expensive operation
When agents entered the sites, they found rows of servers and shelves stacked with SIM cards. 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."
Source-
https://apnews.com/article/unga-threat-telecom-service-sim-93734f76578bc9ca22d93a8e91fd9c76

 

[thastinger]

This must explain the influx of spam calls I receive from the Tax settlement centers.

 

[Pablo]

I am still ordering from Amazon. Why??

 

[cptbarkey]

Im surprised at some comments here. Maybe society getting a little complacent until the next big event one day? One cant honestly think this doesnt go any deeper.

Speculate all day long and eat up the news I guess. Wake me when someone is arrested.

 

[slo town]

Bizarre, but IMO authorities could easily find the smoking gun for something of this magnitude. Instead, all they say is that they found it. It's all part of the plan. Instill fear upon the public.

Scott

 

[KrisZ]

The irony here, is that NYC is famous for their catch and release practices with violent criminals and their DAs are not prosecuting them.

But here is a scary network of SIM cards we found. What else could they be used for besides some major plot? Nothing, obviously

 

[nomas]

Why not just sit on it and try to catch some of the players ?

 

[RDY4WAR]

I think it wasn't just uncovered. I think some government entity has known about it quite a while. The reveal of the threat to the public likely has a timing attachment. There's a benefit to revealing it, otherwise they would be sitting on it. I base this on our government's history of doing such things, as well as foreign countries.

It reminds me of the tunnel espionage debacle in Berlin during the cold war. We dug a tunnel under the Berlin wall to tap into East German / Soviet communications. The Soviets knew all along, but they allowed it go on for years, mostly to avoid revealing their agents in our governments and military, until they randomly "found" it during a supposedly routine maintenance operation.

 

[02SE]

I am still ordering from Amazon. Why??

Addiction.

 

[alarmguy]

Why not just sit on it and try to catch some of the players ?

I suspect they know more than what is being released or they never would have found it.

 

[alarmguy]

The irony here, is that NYC is famous for their catch and release practices with violent criminals and their DAs are not prosecuting them.

But here is a scary network of SIM cards we found. What else could they be used for besides some major plot? Nothing, obviously

Agree with your second line. There is way more to the story than we know and possible more than we will ever know or be allowed to know.

As far as NYC, this isnt local criminals with an unlimited budget totaling in the millions.
They already hinted this is foreign in nature, something being built and most likely more of it someplace. The ability to shut down communications in a US city is pretty significant. Remember there was a time when we thought nothing of a few pilots that were training to fly jetliners in Florida? (911)

 

[thastinger]

I don't see the money figure they are saying unless the pics aren't all of what they found.

It looks like all the SIMs are MobilX, you can get unlimited cell plans from them for 15 bucks a month and a basic line for as little as 4 bucks a month. There isn't 100K SIM cards in any of the pics they showed. That equipment is cheap.

 

[MrHorspwer]

A system like this can be literally implemented anywhere in the world to flood a specific cellphone network. Not sure why it would have to be located in NYC.

Read the Secret Service presser and you'd know: It's NYC because of the UN General Assembly meeting going on right now.

 

[alarmguy]

I don't see the money figure they are saying unless the pics aren't all of what they found.

It looks like all the SIMs are MobilX, you can get unlimited cell plans from them for 15 bucks a month and a basic line for as little as 4 bucks a month. There isn't 100K SIM cards in any of the pics they showed. That equipment is cheap.

So you think they are lying?
300 SIM servers are cheap? and the equipment to run them as well as the facilities and whatever else is involved?

Here is more, dangerous game I think to ignore this stuff. I am glad they are not. They formed a circle around New York City. Sounds like maybe a reason for that.

"The hidden electronic maze was so powerful, it could have sent an encrypted and anonymous text to every human being in the United States within 12 minutes, McCool said. It could have overwhelmed cell towers, toppling New York City’s cell service and preventing every Manhattan resident from accessing Google Maps.

The electronic safe houses were found in places including Armonk, New York; Greenwich, Connecticut; Queens, New York; and across the river in New Jersey – essentially forming a circle around New York City’s cellular network infrastructure, officials briefed on the investigation said."
https://www.cnn.com/2025/09/23/us/swatting-investigation-server-network-discovered

I don't think they are lying. Im glad for our security agencies.
This doesnt look cheap to me and the locations encircled the city.