Federal investigators have dismantled a network of telecommunications devices in the New York area that had the potential to disrupt the city’s communications infrastructure and carry out anonymous telephonic attacks, the US Secret Service said on Tuesday.

The discovery came as world leaders prepared to convene at the United Nations General Assembly in New York City.

Investigators identified over 300 co-located SIM servers and 100,000 SIM cards located within 35 miles of the UN headquarters.

According to the Secret Service, the devices could facilitate a wide range of attacks on telecommunications systems, including disabling cell phone towers, enabling denial of service attacks, and allowing encrypted, anonymous communication between potential threat actors and criminal enterprises.

Early forensic analysis indicates potential links between the network and overseas threat actors, as well as connections to individuals already known to federal law enforcement agencies.

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

He emphasised that the agency’s mission is focused on prevention and that imminent threats to protectees are swiftly investigated, tracked, and dismantled.

Secret Service’s Advanced Threat Interdiction Unit, a specialised division set up to handle high-level threats, led the investigations.

The probe is part of a wider Secret Service effort into telecommunications-related threats targeting senior US government officials.

Federal and local agencies including Homeland Security Investigations, the Department of Justice, the Office of the Director of National Intelligence, and the New York Police Department provided technical support for the operation.

Matt McCool, special agent in charge of the Secret Service’s New York field office, highlighted the potential severity of the threat, explaining that the network could disable cell towers, effectively cutting off text and voice communication.

He warned that if combined with other incidents coinciding with the UN General Assembly, the impact could have been catastrophic for the city.

According to Bloomberg, it is still unclear whether the network was connected to earlier incidents this year in which unknown individuals impersonated White House Chief of Staff Susie Wiles and Secretary of State Marco Rubio.

A full forensic review of the seized devices is ongoing as authorities continue to assess the scope and origins of the network.