• Quick note - the problem with Youtube videos not embedding on the forum appears to have been fixed, thanks to ZiprHead. If you do still see problems let me know.

Attempt To Cripple NY Cell Phone Service

newyorkguy

Penultimate Amazing
newyorkguy
Joined
Mar 12, 2013
Messages
14,957
Location
NY
The Secret Service announced yesterday it had discovered, and deactivated, a covert network that could potentially have crippled cell phone service in the New York City area.
Secret Service agents have dismantled a network of electronic devices at multiple locations around New York City that could be used to disable the city's cellphone network, officials said Tuesday. They said the system was also used to anonymously convey assassination threats against senior U.S. officials and for criminal activities. In five locations within 35 miles of New York, Secret Service agents discovered more than 300 co-located SIM servers and 100,000 SIM cards, officials said. They said the system could also be used for criminal activity and that 80 grams of cocaine, illegal firearms, computers and cellphones were also found. NBC News article link
Click to expand...

ABC News reported that the system could have sent 30 million text messages per minute, completely jamming cellular service. ABC also reports investigators have linked the operation to the Chinese government. That sounds plausible except for the setup being used to threaten senior U.S. officials and the discovery of 80 grams of cocaine. Could a drug cartel have actually been behind this?

Setup at one location.
1758717987293.png
 
This looks like a couple of 100K $ setup (pure guess), so there must be a profit motive somewhere.
The only thing I can see is blackmailing the service providers - collect $2 million and move the operation to the next major city, repeat.

No conceivable connection to assassinations or drugs.
 
No conceivable connection to assassinations or drugs?

The Secret Service says the system was used to deliver threats to senior U.S. officials. The cocaine was apparently found at one of the locations. (There were five.)
 
Maybe they planned to simultaneously text everyone in NYC that they have an unpaid EZ-Pass balance of $12.38 and should follow the link to pay it online.

Seriously, though, it's pretty strange. Are they sure it's not just an innocent lollipop factory?
 
From a statement released by the US Secret Service.
In addition to carrying out anonymous telephonic threats, these devices could be used to conduct a wide range of telecommunications attacks. This includes disabling cell phone towers, enabling denial of services attacks and facilitating anonymous, encrypted communication between potential threat actors and criminal enterprises. While forensic examination of these devices is ongoing, early analysis indicates cellular communications between nation-state threat actors and individuals that are known to federal law enforcement. “The potential for disruption to our country’s telecommunications posed by this network of devices cannot be overstated,” said U.S. Secret Service Director Sean Curran. Secret Service statement link
Click to expand...

Google AI identifies "Nation-state threat actors" as "highly skilled groups, often part of a government's intelligence or military apparatus, that conduct cyber operations for espionage, political, economic, or military gain." I think the scale of the operation -- not just one lollipop factory -- but five locations throughout the Metropolitan New York Area, 300 co-located SIM servers and 100,000 SIM cards, supports the idea this was an intel and/or military operation hosted by some nation.

James A. Lewis, a cybersecurity researcher at the Center for European Policy Analysis in Washington, told the New York Times that that only a handful of countries, including Russia, China and Israel, could pull off such an operation. ABC News reported earlier investigators have already discovered links to China. For many reasons, I don't think investigators would say that unless they could substantiate it.

As I wrote in another thread, with the crazed antics being performed daily by the US president, Americans should expect other nations are very concerned. I don't dismiss this as something funny or amusing.
 
Last edited:
Plenty of map apps use the number to phones linked to a cell to determine traffic density.
Conceivably this tech could be used to create fake traffic jams.
 
So it was like a high tech DDOS setup? I guess you could launch some kind of conventional terrorist attack and use this phone-disabling thing to cause additional panic and inability to communicate.

eta: using this system to make threats to officials was inexplicably stupid. I'm guessing that's how they got tracked down and caught? Use a regular burner phone to keep the big guns invisible till you plan to use them.

Also, 80g of coke could well have been for the personal use of the crew pulling late nights to put their plan together, and keep them lively while they carried it out. 80g is not really all that much if you have a bunch of people in a weeks long caper, and maybe they had a little extra in case they needed to sell a bit for quick untracable cash.

eta: I guess 80g of cocaine is quite a bit. Not really into that, but I vaguely recall a gram was an evening with a friend or two. Building the 5 farms and whatever else they were into takes time, but you could only be coked up for so long I suppose
 
Last edited:
While I suppose it could have been intended for some kind of DDoS vandalism, is it not more likely just to be a farm for some type of scam messaging or even just propaganda bot messaging?

I don't know what the equipment in those photos is, but they show 30 shelves, each with two "trays", and each tray seems to have 16 x 4 antennas, and each column of 4 antennas has 16 <something> in front. of them.
 
Isn't there a show on Netfix where they did come kind of attack and then every phone lit up with a menacing message? I just saw coming attractions so I don't know the plot, but might this have been something similar?
 
No one arrested, they say. That seems odd too. The secret service is involved (threats made to the president?), and they are going through SIM cards to trace the call activity.
 
Jack by the hedge said:
While I suppose it could have been intended for some kind of DDoS vandalism, is it not more likely just to be a farm for some type of scam messaging or even just propaganda bot messaging?
Click to expand...

Not if it's messaging high level politicians with threats. It could be something like the low-orbit cannon that lizard squad had for rental and someone rented this sim bot network thing, used it for threatening the actors and that began the downfall of it. It looks like if it were to be used for a DDOS style attack then it would be on the cellular network, which would cause some slight issues for first responders before they'd switch to radio.
Jack by the hedge said:
I don't know what the equipment in those photos is, but they show 30 shelves, each with two "trays", and each tray seems to have 16 x 4 antennas, and each column of 4 antennas has 16 <something> in front. of them.
Click to expand...

If I'm catching it right the rows are SD cards and the antennas are what makes the phone call or text message or whatever it is they're doing. It looks like they might be dual sim antennas, so two cards per transmitter. Just a guess, I don't use this stuff either.
 
Last edited:
Thermal said:
No one arrested, they say. That seems odd too. The secret service is involved (threats made to the president?), and they are going through SIM cards to trace the call activity.
Click to expand...

That seems odd to me too. These things will require some type of maintenance at some point. Why not just cause the hardware to have a problem and wait for someone to come out, "service" it, arrest them, rinse\repeat until they get to the top....drug dealer style. You'd think there would also be fingerprints, rental space agreements, etc. that would be brought out through the investigation up until now.
 
plague311 said:
That seems odd to me too. These things will require some type of maintenance at some point. Why not just cause the hardware to have a problem and wait for someone to come out, "service" it, arrest them, rinse\repeat until they get to the top....drug dealer style. You'd think there would also be fingerprints, rental space agreements, etc. that would be brought out through the investigation up until now.
Click to expand...
Especially if there were guns and coke around, indicates usage. Maybe the police felt they had to act right away, in case this thing was supposed to be used in short order, like faster than they could track down it's owners/maintainers?
 
Thermal said:
Especially if there were guns and coke around, indicates usage. Maybe the police felt they had to act right away, in case this thing was supposed to be used in short order, like faster than they could track down it's owners/maintainers?
Click to expand...

I wonder how much the NYPD, or any local law enforcement, were involved at all since the Secret Service is driving the bus. I should read the article, but got distracted by the pictures.
 
Jack by the hedge said:
I don't think we know threatening messages were being sent directly to any public figure. Such threats might have been public posts on social media.
Click to expand...

After reading the article quick, you're right in that it doesn't specify if the threats were made directly or on social media. The article seems to point out, almost repeatedly, that these are commonly used for financial crimes rather than taking down city networks, cell towers, etc.
 
The phrase, "... could be used to disable the city's cellphone network" is doing a lot of heavy lifting. Unless I'm missing something, there is no indication that there was any intent to use the equipment that way.

I have chemicals under my kitchen sink that could be used to poison the queen.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Back
Top Bottom