STEVE INSKEEP, HOST:
Secret Service says it dismantled a network of electronic devices that could have been used to shut down cell communications in New York. Special Agent in Charge, Matt McCool, announced in a YouTube video that the devices were capable of nefarious attacks.Secret Service Disrupts Threat Network Near UN General Assembly
(SOUNDBITE OF YOUTUBE VIDEO, "SECRET SERVICE DISRUPTS THREAT NETWORK NEAR UN GENERAL ASSEMBLY")
MATT MCCOOL: These devices allowed anonymous encrypted communications between potential threat actors and criminal enterprises.
INSKEEP: The announcement came as world leaders were in New York for the United Nations General Assembly. Wall Street Journal reporter Joseph De Avila has been covering this story. Good morning.
JOSEPH DE AVILA: Good morning.
INSKEEP: Wow, I'm really needing the who, what, where, when, why and how on this. What, according to the authorities, was someone's plan? Where in New York were they doing it? How would it work?
DE AVILA: So they found these sites located all throughout the tristate area where they found more than 300 servers, 100,000 SIM cards. And with these devices all connected, they were supposedly able to take down New York City's cellphone towers and take down the whole cellphone system. And this was all happening while the U.N.'s General Assembly was supposed to be meeting, and one of the things investigators are looking at is whether their plan was to disrupt this meeting.
INSKEEP: Now, you just said 100,000 SIM cards. I'm suddenly imagining a computerized system to just place enormous numbers of calls and overwhelm the system. Was that the idea, denial of service?
DE AVILA: Basically, that's how it would work. And obviously, that would carry, you know, enormous risk 'cause that would affect EMS services. This would affect police. And so this could really be pretty damaging for the tristate area if that were to happen.
INSKEEP: We also heard Special Agent McCool say, I quote, "these devices allowed anonymous encrypted communications between potential threat actors." So, in addition to disrupting everybody's communications, there was some way for the bad actors to communicate themselves, is that right?
DE AVILA: Right. So they - this - they were using this also to communicate with people that were known to federal law enforcement within the U.S. So this - they were also using this system to communicate, as well.
INSKEEP: Who was doing this?
DE AVILA: We don't know. What the - we've been told so far from the Secret Service that it was a nation-state actor, and they were communicating with folks that were known to federal law enforcement in the U.S., and that's basically where we're at right now and what's publicly available.
INSKEEP: OK. So we might be getting to the part of the story where the law enforcement folks and the Secret Service wouldn't want to tell you everything, but based on what you know, how did they catch on to this? How'd they find out?
DE AVILA: So they first found out about this over the spring when several high-ranking U.S. officials began receiving anonymous threats to their cellphones. And so they started tracking this, and this is what led them to the discovery of this whole system of these network devices.
INSKEEP: If they have known for a while, any idea why they would make the takedown now - announce the takedown now in the middle of the U.N. General Assembly?
DE AVILA: Officials didn't say why the announcement came yesterday, but they did mention that the network is down and no longer - places - it's no longer a threat for the New York City area.
INSKEEP: Anybody under arrest?
DE AVILA: No one under arrest yet.
INSKEEP: OK. Joseph De Avila, thanks for the update. I really appreciate it.
DE AVILA: Thanks.
INSKEEP: He's a reporter for The Wall Street Journal in New York City, where the Secret Service says it took down a network of technology that could have taken down the cell network.
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