The U.S. Secret Service said Tuesday that it “dismantled a network of electronic devices located throughout the New York tristate area that were used to conduct multiple telecommunications-related threats directed towards senior U.S. government officials.”
The devices were concentrated within 35 miles of the ongoing United Nations General Assembly meeting in New York.
“This network had the potential to disable cellphone towers and essentially shut down the cellular network in New York City,” Matt McCool, the special agent in charge of the Secret Service’s New York field office, said in a video released Tuesday.
McCool told The Associated Press that the investigation found that, “definitely nation state, foreign governments [were] communicating over that network to known criminals in the United States, and known organized crime, known cartels, and terrorist groups were using this network to run their communications anonymously and encrypted.”
U.S. Secret Service shared images of some of the devices located in New York. (U.S. Secret Service)
The Department of Homeland Security’s Homeland Security Investigations, the Department of Justice, the Office of the Director of National Intelligence, the New York Police Department and other state and local law enforcement partners are assisting with the investigation.
“The potential for disruption to our country’s telecommunications posed by this network of devices cannot be overstated,” U.S. Secret Service Director Sean Curran said.
“The U.S. Secret Service’s protective mission is all about prevention, and this investigation makes it clear to potential bad actors that imminent threats to our protectees will be immediately investigated, tracked down and dismantled,” he added.
The Secret Service also 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.”
The Secret Service said its Advanced Threat Interdiction Unit, which it describes as, “a new section of the agency dedicated to disrupting the most significant and imminent threats to our protectees,” is leading the investigation. (U.S. Secret Service)
President Donald Trump is set to address the U.N. General Assembly on Tuesday.
