Telecom bust near the UN reveals new national security vulnerability

When Secret Service agents swept into an inconspicuous building near the United Nations General Assembly late last month, they weren’t tracking guns or explosives.

Instead, they dismantled a clandestine telecommunications hub that investigators say was capable of crippling cellular networks and concealing hostile communications.

According to federal officials, the operation seized more than 300 devices tied to roughly 100,000 SIM cards — an arsenal of network-manipulating tools that could disrupt the cellular backbone of New York City at a moment of geopolitical tension. The discovery, officials stressed, was not just a one-off bust but a warning sign of a much broader national security vulnerability.

Read more at The Cipher Brief