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When it comes to cyber warfare, there are many avenues of attack. The world in general, but especially the United States, is very reliant on digital communications, so any type of attack on a communications network can cause serious problems.

Recently, the US Secret Service found and dismantled a massive network of devices that they say had the potential to take down the entire cellular network in New York City.

The equipment in question is known to have been used to conduct swatting calls against government officials earlier this year. Swatting is a very dangerous type of prank that dispatches local swat teams to a location, putting the people in the target house or business at serious risk.

According to the Secret Service, more than 100,000 SIM cards and 300 SIM servers were seized. The equipment was spread out across five separate locations in or around the city. None of those locations were occupied, however, which makes it difficult to determine who was controlling it, or what other potential systems they have available.

In addition to the SIM cards and network equipment, the Secret Service found 80 grams of cocaine, illegal firearms, and other computers and cell phones.

Matt McCool is the head of the Secret Service New York Field Office released a video statement, which was quoted by NBC News, saying:

“These devices allowed anonymous, encrypted communications between potential threat actors and criminal enterprises, enabling criminal organizations to operate undetected. This network had the potential to disable cell phone towers and essentially shut down the cellular network in New York City.”

The capacity of this equipment was massive. It would have been able to send a text message, for example, to every person in the country within just 12 minutes. It could have also been used to flood the cellular systems of New York City, taking them offline and even preventing people from accessing systems like Google Maps.

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As of now, no arrests have been announced and the Secret Service is still actively investigating the situation. It is possible that the equipment was operated, or at least accessible, by foreign governments, but it is more likely that it was used by drug or human traffickers.

The existence of this type of network highlight the vulnerability of various systems within the United States and the importance of having the necessary resources to combat this type of attack in the future.

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