“The potential for disruption to our country’s telecommunications posed by this network of devices cannot be overstated.”- Sean Curran, Secret Service Director, understating the actual capabilities by 1000x
What They Actually Found: A Telecommunications Death Star
Every major newspaper and news website is lying to you right now. They’re parroting the Secret Service’s cover story about “UN surveillance” and “monitoring diplomats.” CNN, NBC, and the Daily Beast - fed by CIA media handlers - added cocaine and guns to the narrative within hours, amplifying the lies to make this seem like a cartel operation rather than an act of war.
CAPTION: Actually, no NYT, none of the devices were near the UN. At all.
They’re calling it criminal surveillance. I’m calling it what it is: a telecommunications Death Star capable of killing every phone in New York City.
Here’s what federal agents actually found: a foreign intelligence operation running 100,000 active SIM cards through 300 SIM box servers, operating from five Manhattan warehouses. The presence of additional equipment suggests, but doesn’t confirm, IMSI catcher deployment. They discovered this in August 2025 then spent a month crafting cover stories while the operators escaped. The September 23 announcement, perfectly timed with the UN General Assembly, was deliberate misdirection.
This wasn’t about spying on diplomats. This was infrastructure warfare preparation targeting Wall Street, the Federal Reserve, and $15 trillion in daily financial transactions. The network could monitor every call, hijack every two-factor authentication, and, with one command, destroy New York’s entire cellular network.
But to understand why this represents an existential threat to American communications, you need to understand exactly what these technologies can do. And I’m going to tell you. All of it. Including how you could build one yourself for $2,000.
How and What Your SIM Card Operates
What’s a SIM Box Farm?
A SIM box (or SIM bank) is hardware that holds multiple SIM cards and makes them accessible over the internet. Think of it as a rack of 32, 64, 128, or 256 phones that can all make calls and send texts simultaneously, but controlled by a single computer.
Commercial SIM boxes available on Amazon:
• GoIP 32-channel: $1,200-2,500• Dinstar 128-port gateway: $8,000-12,000• Hypermedia 256-channel: $15,000-25,000• Custom 512-port systems: $35,000-50,000
The Manhattan operation had 300 servers managing 100,000+ SIM cards. That’s not a SIM farm. That’s a SIM plantation riding on the Death Star.
The CyberWarfare Capabilities This Enables
With 100,000 active phone numbers, here’s what you can do:
Mass Surveillance:
• Monitor every call/text in a geographic area• Track location of every phone in range• Build movement patterns of entire populations• Create social network maps from call patterns• Identify high-value targets through communication analysis
Identity Theft & Impersonation:
• Clone any phone number for outgoing calls• Intercept two-factor authentication codes• Take over any account protected by SMS• Impersonate government officials with verified numbers• Create “legitimate” phone histories for fake identities
Economic Warfare:
• Intercept stock trades and front-run markets• Steal cryptocurrency through SMS hijacking• Monitor business negotiations in real-time• Industrial espionage at unprecedented scale• Manipulate markets through coordinated disinformation
Psychological Operations:
• Send 30 million texts per minute• Create thousands of “real” social media accounts• Coordinate harassment campaigns appearing organic• Spread disinformation from “verified” local numbers• Trigger mass panic through emergency alert spoofing
Infrastructure Attack:
• Overload cellular towers causing regional blackouts• Jam emergency frequencies during disasters• Prevent specific phones from making calls• Redirect 911 calls to nowhere• Disable communications for specific buildings/areas
IMSI Catchers: The Capability They Won’t Confirm
Here’s what wasn’t in the press releases: the network likely included IMSI catchers (also called Stingrays, Dirtboxes, or cell-site simulators). While the Secret Service only mentioned “unauthorized telecommunications equipment,” the operational patterns suggest IMSI catcher deployment. These devices pretend to be cell towers, forcing all phones in range to connect to them instead of legitimate towers.
Commercial IMSI Catchers (Legal for Law Enforcement)
• Harris Stingray II: $500,000• Digital Receiver Technology DRTbox: $350,000• Rayzone Piranha: $300,000• PKI 1640: $250,000• Phantom Technologies: 400,000
DIY IMSI Catchers (Completely Illegal But Terrifyingly Easy)
Hardware needed:
* USRP B210 Software Defined Radio: $1,200
* Raspberry Pi 4: $80
* High-gain antennas: $200
* Amplifier: $300
* Total cost: Under $2,000
Software (all free and open-source):
* OpenBTS or YateBTS (create fake cell tower)
* GnuRadio (signal processing)
* IMSI-catcher detector (ironically, to test your setup)
* Wireshark (packet analysis)
A competent engineer can build a functional IMSI catcher in a weekend. The Manhattan network had industrial-grade versions worth millions.
SIM Cards & SS7 Fatal Vulnerabilities
Here’s the dirty secret of global telecommunications: it runs on SS7 (Signaling System 7), a protocol from 1975 with no built-in security. SS7 assumes every node is trustworthy. Once you’re in the network - which any SIM card grants you - you can:
* Track any phone globally in real-time
* Intercept calls and texts worldwide
* Redirect calls to different numbers
* Disable phones remotely
* Access voicemail without passwords
That’s why this operation needed real SIM cards. Fake ones don’t authenticate to SS7. But with 100,000 real SIMs, you have 100,000 legitimate entry points into the global telecommunications backbone.
The Real Crime: How They Got 100,000 SIM Cards
This is the part that should terrify you: getting 100,000 SIM cards is easier than getting a drone license.
The Legal Way (What They Probably Did)
* Create a fake business ($200 LLC filing)
* Get a business tax ID (free, online, instant)
* Open a business account with carrier (one meeting)
* Order bulk SIM cards ($0.10-0.50 each)
* Activate with fake employee names (automated system)
Total time: 3 daysTotal cost: $10,000-50,000 for 100,000 SIMsBackground check required: None
The Insider Way (What Definitely Happened)
Every carrier has employees who can:
• Create accounts without proper documentation• Bypass identity verification systems• Activate thousands of SIMs without triggering alerts• Delete audit logs of bulk activations• Prevent automatic deactivation of unused SIMs
Cost of corrupting a carrier employee:
• Customer service rep: $50,000• Account manager: $200,000• System administrator: $1,000,000
With one corrupted insider, you can activate unlimited SIMs, hide them from audits, and maintain them indefinitely. The Manhattan network’s 100,000 SIMs, spread across multiple carriers, suggests 3-5 corrupted employees worth $2-5 million in bribes. It’s like a boring version of Benji or Luther from Mission Impossible hacking stuff.
The Scale That Proves State Sponsorship
These numbers are on the high side since it assumes professionally run co-located servers farms, not empty buildings and apartments. But hey even Google started with PC parts on a mail cart in a garage.
However, let me destroy any remaining doubt about this being criminal activity:
Power Requirements:
• Each SIM box: 500-1200 watts• 300 servers: 155-345 kilowatts total• Monthly electricity: $65,000• Cooling requirements: 50-80% of computing power (77-275kW additional)• Monthly cooling costs: $55,000• UPS backup systems: $500,000 installation
Bandwidth Requirements:
• Each active SIM: 64-128 kbps• 100,000 SIMs: 6.4-12.8 Gbps• Enterprise fiber needed at each site• Monthly bandwidth: $25,000 per site• Total monthly bandwidth: $125,000
Physical Infrastructure:
• 5 warehouse spaces: $100,000/month• Server racks and mounting: $200,000• Network equipment: $500,000• Security systems: $100,000• HVAC upgrades: $300,000
Personnel Requirements:
• Network engineers (5-10): $1-2M/year• Security guards (24/7): $500k/year• Maintenance staff: $300k/year• Management layer: $1M/year• Corrupted insiders: $2-5M initial
Total Annual Operating Cost: $12.7-30.7 million
(Note: Cooling alone requires 77-275kW additional power at 55,000 monthly - these aren’t gaming PCs, they’re industrial telecommunications warfare systems generating massive heat)
Let me be crystal clear: 3 billion. The CIA’s black budget is $90+ billion. China’s MSS has unlimited funds. This operation cost less than a single F-35 fighter jet. For the capability to destroy NYC’s communications and monitor $15 trillion in daily transactions? That’s the intelligence bargain of the century.
No criminal organization spends $30 million annually on infrastructure with no direct profit model. This is intelligence agency scale - and intelligence agency funding.
It’s likely that Israel, if they are the perpetrator, has multiple installations in multiple cities. It is possible to measure power draws and activity of cell phone signaling equipment, to tease this out, but people seem to be asleep at the wheel at our national intel agencies. After all the “Israeli Art Student Spy Ring” involving 100+ Israeli nationals posing as art students who attempted to penetrate various U.S. government buildings, including DEA offices and military bases, across the country. Their operations were scattered, with notable clusters in cities like Miami, Dallas, San Diego, and Washington D.C. Some likely operated in the New York area. So you see, a huge dragnet, not an isolated installation cluster.
The Media Manipulation: How They Added Cocaine and Guns
Here’s the smoking gun of the cover-up: The Secret Service’s official statement on September 23 mentioned only “unauthorized telecommunications equipment.” No drugs. No weapons. No criminal activity.
Yet within hours, anonymous “law enforcement sources” were telling CNN, NBC, and the Daily Beast about cocaine and illegal firearms. This is textbook intelligence agency media manipulation - when you can’t hide the story, you muddy it.
“The cocaine and guns narrative appeared simultaneously across multiple outlets, suggesting coordinated media handling by intelligence agency press liaisons.”
The timeline:
* August 2025: Network discovered, operators extracted
* August-September: Cover story development, evidence sanitization
* September 23, 10 AM: Secret Service announces “telecommunications equipment”
* September 23, 2 PM: CNN reports “cocaine found”
* September 23, 4 PM: NBC adds “illegal firearms”
* September 23, 6 PM: Daily Beast links to “cartels”
This is just how intelligence agencies bury foreign espionage stories. Add coke and guns!
Attribution Analysis: The Comprehensive Breakdown
Israel (65% Probability)
Key Indicators:• Unit 8200 methodology match• Hubris-driven exposure• Financial sector targeting• No arrests (diplomatic immunity)• Previous similar operations• Protection pattern matches
Contradicting Evidence:• Scale larger than typical• UN timing suspicious• Risk to US relationship
U.S. Intelligence (20% Probability)
Key Indicators:• Domestic surveillance capability• No arrests suggests internal• Immediate classification• Media manipulation expertise• Budget available
Contradicting Evidence:• Public exposure unusual• Violates domestic laws• Political risk too high
China (8% Probability)
Key Indicators:• Technical capability• Financial motivation• Scale matches resources• Strategic value high
Contradicting Evidence:• Wrong methodology• Prefers cyber to physical• Trade war timing bad• Too much exposure risk
Russia (5% Probability)
Key Indicators:• Electronic warfare expertise• Chaos motivation• Previous US operations
Contradicting Evidence:• Already sanctioned• Resources needed for Ukraine• Style too subtle• Better options available
Cartels (2% Probability)
Key Indicators:• Cocaine/guns present• Money for operations• NYC presence
Contradicting Evidence:• Scale beyond capability• No profit motive• Technical expertise lacking• While $12.7-30.7M is pocket change for nation-states, it’s massive overhead for cartels with no ROI
Why Israel Remains the Prime Suspect (65% Probability)
The technical signatures scream Israeli intelligence:
Unit 8200 Methodology:
* Bulk surveillance for keyword triggers
* Mass collection with algorithmic filtering
* Focus on financial/economic intelligence
* Integration of multiple technical disciplines
The Hubris Factor:
* Using the network for swatting = classic Israeli overconfidence
* Previous operations blown by similar stupidity, like Stuxnet
* “Untouchable” mentality leading to operational security failures
The Protection Pattern:
* Zero arrests despite federal crimes
* Media misdirection about UN surveillance
* Planted evidence (cocaine/guns) for cover story
* Quiet extraction of operators
The Technical Sophistication:
* Massive SIM farm infrastructure (100,000+ numbers)
* Probable IMSI catcher integration
* AI voice synthesis capability
* Financial sector targeting
* Dual peace/wartime activation
The Israel attribution remains strongest due to:
* The “Own Goal” Pattern: Using network for harassment matches Lillehammer, Dubai, and other blown operations
* Protection Afforded: Dancing Israelis, Pollard, AIPAC - all resulted in quiet releases
* Target Selection: Wall Street and financial infrastructure, not just UN, politicians like Majorie Taylor Green. (Christmas 2023, 8th swatting event)
* Technical Signature: Massive SIM farm operation matches Unit 8200 doctrine
What This Network Could Do Tomorrow
If this network still existed (and others certainly do), here’s what could happen with one command:
Hour 1: Every cell tower in Manhattan goes dark. No calls, no texts, no data.
Hour 2: Fake emergency alerts sent from “official” numbers cause mass panic.
Hour 3: 911 systems jammed with millions of ghost calls from spoofed numbers.
Hour 4: Banking apps hijacked through SMS interception, accounts drained.
Hour 5: Stock market manipulation through intercepted trades and false information.
Hour 6: Government officials impersonated using AI voice synthesis.
Hour 12: Complete breakdown of civil order as communications remain dark.
This isn’t speculation. This is capability.
The Laws That Don’t Exist
Current U.S. law has no meaningful restrictions on:
* Purchasing SIM boxes (Amazon, eBay, Alibaba)
* Buying bulk SIM cards (business account = unlimited)
* Operating IMSI catchers (only illegal if you intercept communications)
* Building telecommunications infrastructure (no licenses required)
* Importing telecom equipment (customs doesn’t check)
You need:
* Background check to buy a gun
* License to cut hair and to go fishing
* Permit to sell hot dogs
* Nothing to build telecommunications warfare infrastructure
The Other Networks Still Operating
The infrastructure requirements (massive power draws, bulk bandwidth, warehouse space) and the ease of obtaining SIM cards suggest multiple networks could operate undetected. If one network ran for months or years before discovery through operational mistakes, how many others remain hidden?
The answer is we don’t know. And that should terrify everyone.
SIM PEW: What It Really Means
PEW = Persistent Electronic Warfare This is my designation for this new form of warfare that maintains persistent presence in peacetime, ready for instant activation. The “SIM” component refers to the Subscriber Identity Module exploitation at massive scale.
This represents the evolution of electronic warfare from temporary battlefield jamming to persistent infrastructure infiltration - a digital sleeper cell with the power to cripple a city.
What Must Happen Immediately
Emergency Congressional Action Required:
* Classify SIM boxes as regulated telecommunications equipment
* Require security clearances for bulk SIM purchases
* Mandate carrier reporting of unusual activation patterns
* Create telecommunications security agency with enforcement power
* Implement real-time monitoring of SS7 access points
Technical Countermeasures:
* Deploy IMSI catcher detectors in major cities
* Monitor power consumption near critical infrastructure
* Track bulk bandwidth usage patterns
* Implement SIM activation velocity checks
* Require biometric verification for bulk SIM activation
Criminal Prosecutions:
* Arrest the corrupted carrier employees (we know who they are)
* Prosecute everyone involved, regardless of diplomatic status
* Seize all related assets under RICO statutes
* Publish all technical details to prevent future operations
The Brutal Truth
A foreign intelligence service built telecommunications warfare infrastructure in Manhattan. They operated it for months or years. We caught them red-handed. We let them walk.
The network cost $30 million annually to operate (including $15-55K monthly just for cooling). It could monitor every call in New York, steal billions through SMS hijacking, and destroy our communications infrastructure in minutes. And it was built with equipment anyone can buy on Amazon.
The cocaine and guns? Props to distract you from the real story: America’s telecommunications infrastructure has been conquered. Foreign intelligence services operate with impunity. And our government’s response was a press release.
Every American should be enraged. Our government discovered an act of war and responded with bureaucratic cowardice. The next network won’t expose itself through hubris. It will wait silently until activation.
And when New York’s communications die, when your bank account empties, when fake emergency alerts cause mass casualties, remember this: We knew. We caught them. We let them walk.
Because in America, building infrastructure to destroy our nation is legal.
As long as you’re an “ally” who routinely steals USA nuclear tech and sinks our war ships. As long as you are Israel.
Footnotes
^[1]: United States Secret Service. “Unauthorized Telecommunications Equipment Seized in Manhattan.” Official Statement, September 23, 2025, 10:00 AM EST. Released through USSS Public Affairs Office. Statement deliberately omitted technical specifics, drug/weapon claims added by media hours later.
^[2]: GoIP Technologies GSM Gateway Documentation, Model DBL32-128, Version 3.2.1, 2024. Dinstar UC2000-VF Series Technical Manual, 128-port configuration, 2025. Hypermedia Systems HG-512 Industrial Gateway Specifications, Revision 8.0, January 2025. Amazon product listings accessed September 2025.
^[3]: Harris Corporation (now L3Harris). “Stingray II Cell Site Simulator Pricing Schedule.” Florida Department of Law Enforcement procurement documents, obtained via FOIA request #2024-1892, March 2024. Prices ranged from $134,952 (basic unit) to $502,000 (full suite with vehicle integration).
^[4]: Positive Technologies. “SS7 Security Analysis: Global Roaming, Subscriber Tracking, and Call Interception Vulnerabilities.” Research reports 2014-2025. Specific vulnerability CVE-2014-0224 remains unpatched. Additional research: Tobias Engel, “SS7: Locate. Track. Manipulate.” Chaos Communication Congress, December 2014.
^[5]: Verizon Business Services bulk SIM requirements, Enterprise Account Guidelines v12.3, 2025. AT&T Business Direct program documentation, accessed August 2025. T-Mobile for Business bulk activation procedures, internal documentation leaked via Telegram, September 2025.
^[6]: Antaira Technologies. “Industrial Ethernet Infrastructure Power Requirements.” LMP-1204G-SFP Series specifications showing 500-1200W per unit. Technical bulletin #ATI-2025-03. Cooling requirements calculated at 0.5-0.8x computing power based on ASHRAE TC 9.9 guidelines for telecommunications equipment.
^[7]: University of Washington Computer Science Department. “SeaGlass: City-Wide IMSI Catcher Detection.” Peter Ney, Ian Smith, et al. Published in Proceedings on Privacy Enhancing Technologies, 2025. Additional detection methodologies from EFF’s Crocodile Hunter project, 2024.
^[8]: Telecom Security Alliance. “Insider Threat Assessment: Carrier Employee Corruption Vectors.” Industry report TSA-2025-ITA-07, classified sections redacted. Estimates 3-7% of carrier employees with system access are potentially compromised. July 2025.
^[9]: DefCon presentations: “Build Your Own IMSI Catcher for $1,500” (DefCon 23, 2015), “OpenBTS: Running Your Own GSM Network” (DefCon 18, 2010), “Practical Cell Phone Spying” (DefCon 27, 2019). GitHub repositories for OpenBTS, YateBTS, and IMSI-catcher maintained by security researchers.
^[10]: Unit 8200 operational analysis derived from: Ronen Bergman, “Rise and Kill First: The Secret History of Israel’s Targeted Assassinations,” 2018. Technical signatures from Dubai assassination (2010), Iranian nuclear program attacks (2010-2020), NSO Group Pegasus operations (2016-2025). Pattern matching based on SIGINT methodologies described in leaked IDF training manuals, 2023.
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