Secret Service says plot could have caused cell phone blackout

The Secret Service said it has foiled a telecommunications network of tens of thousands of devices that could have been used to wipe out cell networks in New York City, all while world leaders gathered there for the United Nations General Assembly .

An investigation was launched after "multiple telecommunications-related imminent threats" were made toward senior U.S. government officials in the spring, Matt McCool, special agent in charge of the Secret Service field office in New York, said.

"This network had the potential to disable cell phone towers and essentially shut down the cellular network in New York City," McCool said.

Investigators found more than 300 co-located SIM servers and 100,000 SIM cards in the New York tri-state area, concentrated within 35 miles of the General Ass