Secret Service agents dismantle system used to convey assassination threats
- - Secret Service agents dismantle system used to convey assassination threats
Kelly O'DonnellSeptember 23, 2025 at 6:49 AM
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Secret Service agent in front of the White Hous, on April 7, 2023. (Celal Gunes / Anadolu Agency via Getty Images file )
NEW YORK –U.S. Secret Service agents have dismantled a network of electronic devices located in multiple locations around New York City that were used to anonymously convey assassination threats against senior U.S. officials, law enforcement officials said on Tuesday. The officials said they found links to foreign nationals, drug cartels, human trafficking, and organized crime.
In five locations within 35 miles of New York, agents discovered more than 300 co-located SIM servers and 100,000 SIM cards, officials said. They also found 80 grams of cocaine, illegal firearms, computers, and cell phones.
One official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said that the networks could be used for software attacks, encrypted messaging and routine communications.
“This network can be used to disable cell phone towers. It can enable “denial of service” attacks, which means, basically, they could block EMS or police from responding to a scene if needed,” said one official, who spoke on condition of anonymity. “They can also be used to do anonymous, encrypted communication.”
Officials said agents were searching through the SIM cards to determine who created the network. “We’re working through every call, every text, every search made on those SIM cards,” said one official, who spoke on condition of anonymity.
They added that the discovery of the network occurred after the Secret Service noticed that death threats against the public officials they protect were multiplying. Officials declined to name the officials who were threatened.
The Department of Homeland Security’s Homeland Security Investigations, the Department of Justice, the Office of the Director of National Intelligence and the NYPD, as well as other state and local law enforcement, participated in the investigation, which is ongoing.
Source: “AOL General News”
