‘It can’t be understated what this system is capable of doing’.
Those were the sobering words of special agent Matt McCool, whose Secret Service team dismantled a network of sophisticated devices in New York ahead of the UN General Assembly meeting this week.
The clandestine network of SIM servers and cards was positioned to knock out cell service and target protective missions near the United Nations.
The impact of such a plot could have been ‘catastrophic’.
Nation-state threat actors known to federal law enforcement are believed to be behind the threat.
‘The potential for disruption to our country’s telecommunications posed by this network of devices cannot be overstated,’ Secret Service Director Sean Curran said.
‘This investigation makes it clear to potential bad actors that imminent threats to our protectees will be immediately investigated, tracked down and dismantled.’
It’s not the first time a concentrated attack at this scale has been conducted. Here’s all you need to know about the planned attack and its implications.
What did the attack intend to do?
Security expert Will Geddes explained to Metro that the threat was likely a distributed denial of service, or DDOS.
A DDOS is a way to clog a telecommunications network so no cell phones work, meaning calls to emergency services are impossible.
With no network, individuals aren’t able to call for emergencies, which impacts security operations from the police up to the Secret Service.
‘Police do run their own radio network to communicate with each other, but with a DDOS, people wouldn’t be able to report any of the emergencies, which could cause chaos in itself,’ Geddes said.
The attacks are commonly used by cybercriminals, activists and individuals tied to foreign governments.
Have there been previous similar attacks?
Last year, research found that DDOS attacks targeted European elections, with bot traffic having increased by 1100% during elections.
StormWall, which conducted the study, warned at the time: ‘Whenever something politically significant happens, such as an election, it will inevitably cause a spike in DDoS attacks, and hackers will target government services in particular — governments are now the most targeted by DDoS and they need to prepare accordingly.’
‘In terms of the skill sets to be able to do this, it’s not massively complicated – it’s like using a bot farm to attack an internet service provider or to do a DDOS attack on a website that hackers might do,’ Geddes added.
‘This is not a brand new method of attack, but it’s a really, really concerning one.’
Though many DDOS attacks are coordinated by bad actors, some do occur naturally.
In the aftermath of 9/11, all cell phone communications went down across New York as frantic residents tried to reach family and friends.
Should politicians be concerned?
The recent plot to disrupt communications across New York is emblematic of a larger issue threatening politicians and civilians alike.
During the US presidential elections in 2020, political campaigns experienced nearly 5,000 threats per day.
If the attacks are successful, they have the potential to disrupt democratic processes and destabilise governments.
How are intelligence services adapting?
The issue of DDOS is increasing as foreign actors seek to disrupt democratic processes.
Most websites have a DDOS defence system built in, but when the attack is on a massive scale, like the one planned in New York, they can be rendered useless.
Last year, America’s Cyber Defence Agency published a guide on how to address the challenges faced by mounting attacks.
They included a list of symptoms which could help websites, governments and even politicians know what is and isn’t a DDOS attack.
Intelligence sharing among countries that have been targeted in these attacks is also helping defence systems to prepare.
Get in touch with our news team by emailing us at webnews@metro.co.uk.
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