ISTANBUL

The US Secret Service dismantled a major telecommunications threat network in the New York tristate area as world leaders gather for the UN General Assembly, the agency said on Tuesday.

The operation uncovered more than 300 co-located SIM servers and 100,000 SIM cards across multiple sites within 35 miles (56.3 kilometers) of New York City, where the 80th UN General Assembly session is underway with leaders from around the globe.

The agency said the timing and location of the devices, discovered during the international gathering where over 100 world leaders are attending meetings and events, prompted the swift action to prevent potential disruption.

"The potential for disruption to our country's telecommunications posed by this network of devices cannot be overstated," said Secret Service Director Sean Curran.

Early analysis indicated that there was cellular communication between nation-state threat actors and individuals known to federal law enforcement agencies, the agency said.

These devices were used to carry out anonymous telephone threats against high-level officials of the US government and could disable cell phone base stations, carry out denial-of-service attacks, and facilitate encrypted communication between threat actors and criminal organizations, according to the statement.