How a SIM farm like the one that is close to the UN threatens telecommunications networks

New York (AP) – The United States Secret Service has found and is silently dismantling a massive “SIM farm” in the area of ​​New York, as well as world leaders gather for meetings in the United Nations.

Matt McCool, the special agent in charge of the New York Field Office of the Secret Service, said the agents found multiple sites full of stacked SIM servers and cards, of which more than 100,000 cards were already active. Although the investigation is ongoing and there have been no arrests, it described it as a well-organized company and possibly led by state-state actors, perpetrators from private countries.

The officials also warned about the ravages that the network could have caused if it is left intact. McCool compared the potential impact with the cell blackfathoms that followed the attacks of September 11 and the bombing of the Boston Marathon, when the networks collapsed under tension.

So what are these Sim farms and what are capable?

What technology does

SIM farms are hardware devices that can contain numerous SIM cards of different mobile operators. These devices then exploit Voice technology on the Internet protocol (VOIP) to send and receive messages or bulk calls.

Although it was initially developed for legitimate purposes, such as the low -cost international call, technology has become a cornerstone of organized fraud aimed at the mass public: phishing texts and scam calls.

“The scams have become so sophisticated now. Phishing emails, text messages, falsification of call identification, all this technology offers the scammers that advantage,” said Eva Velásquez, president and executive director of the Identity theft Resources Center.

In this case, the devices were concentrated within the 35 miles of the UN building. The investigation is ongoing, but McCool said that forensic analysis currently believes that the system could have been used to send encrypted messages to organized crimes, posters and terrorist organizations.

How these farms represent a threat to telecommunications networks

Anthony J. Ferrante, the global chief of the practice of cybersecurity in FTI, an international consulting firm, said the photos show a very sophisticated and established SIM farm that could be used for any amount of dire activities, including the potential to overwhelm cellular networks with millions of calls in just a few minutes.

“Then, if you can imagine that kind of magnitude in cell networks, I simply overwhelmed them and make them close,” Ferrante said in an interview. He also points out that the system can be used for surveillance operations, given its proximity to the United Nations, “potentially that equipment could be used to intercept communications, spy on communications or, in reality, also cloned devices.”

Ferrante, who previously served in key security positions in the White House and the FBI, says that he is waiting for the results of the investigation before drawing conclusions about the nature of the configuration, but emphasizes that the scale of the operation shows how simple tools can propose real risks for critical infrastructure.

“The intellectual authors could have established this a long time ago and be operating from thousands of miles away,” he said. “It is a marked reminder of how deeply interconnected our world has become, where local vulnerabilities can be exploited worldwide.”