SIM Farms Threaten Urban Infrastructure

Author

Taylor Hawes
September 24, 2025

✍🏻 From the Editor’s Desk

This week, a hidden telecom network on the outskirts of New York — with over 100,000 SIM cards and 300+ servers — was dismantled just as the U.N. General Assembly convened. Is the next frontier in cyber warfare attacking connectivity itself, rather than data?

🔎 Deep Brief

SIM Farms Threaten Urban Infrastructure

In a high-stakes operation timed around the U.N. gathering, U.S. Secret Service agents uncovered and dismantled a clandestine telecom network capable of crippling New York’s cellular infrastructure. Spread across multiple sites within roughly 35 miles of Manhattan, the system included more than 300 SIM servers and 100,000 active SIM cards.

The threat was multi-fold: mass anonymous messaging (up to 30 million texts per minute), network flooding, disabling of cell towers, and anonymous encrypted communication among threat actors. Officials flagged that the system could have disrupted emergency services (e.g. 911) and critical communications during a moment when the city was most exposed.

🧠 Strategy in Action

Meta’s Llama AI Joins U.S. and Allied Defense Projects

Meta has begun deploying variants of its Llama AI models into U.S. defense and allied systems, turning open-source AI into a potent tool for national security. Because Llama is open-source, defense agencies can host, fine-tune, and run it entirely on internal systems — ensuring sensitive data doesn’t need to leave secure perimeters.

👉 Takeaway: This strategy reflects a shift: open models are now entering sensitive environments. By allowing governments to host models themselves, Meta aims to allay data-leak concerns. For organizations looking to adopt AI securely, this move suggests a playbook: use open models that can be locked down, audited, and sandboxed — rather than opaque closed models whose internals are invisible.

🕵️ Threat Actor Spotlight

Belsen Group

A ransomware / data broker group, Belsen engages in double extortion and data auctions. Though still new, its victims already span sectors: cybersecurity, banking, aerospace, manufacturing, fashion, engineering.

Key traits

  • It operates via TOR and other anonymizing channels. 

  • Its extortion demands range from modest sums ($100) to larger ones (up to $20,000+) depending on the target size. 

  • Communication is via multiple channels (Jabber, forums) to maintain anonymity. 

Defensive advice 

Prioritize segmentation, rapid detection of anomalous file encryption, and robust backups. Monitor dark web forums and auction sites, as Belsen sometimes publishes stolen data when demands are unmet. 

🛠️ Tool Check

Internet Monitoring Tools Comparison

Internet monitoring tools help IT teams track performance, diagnose issues, and manage user activity. Comparitech highlights several leading options for your consideration. Here are the top ones.

  • Obkio – A real-time performance monitoring tool with multi-site latency testing. Marked as Comparitech’s “Editor’s Choice,” it’s best for organizations that need visibility across multiple locations, though costs rise with more agents.

  • Site24x7 Website Monitoring – Provides synthetic and real-user testing from a global network. Well-suited for organizations with worldwide audiences, but the volume of data may overwhelm smaller teams.

  • ManageEngine Firewall Analyzer – Focuses on firewall traffic and user-level internet usage, helping identify which users or applications consume bandwidth. Works best when firewall logs are well-configured.

  • Paessler PRTG – A versatile tool that tracks both website performance and network metrics. Offers deep functionality but requires time and expertise to configure effectively.

🗣️ Community Signal

Three quick subjects you should definitely know are networking, cryptography, and coding, as these are fundamental in everything you do in cybersecurity. Networking, because you need to understand the difference between TCP and UDP, or HTTP and HTTPS, secure and non-secure. On cryptography, it is fundamental to understanding CIA principles, which are confidentiality, integrity, and availability. Coding will be helpful for scripting and automation, as well as analyzing data. Jason Ashong, IT Support Specialist at the Center for Internet Security (CIS).

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Until next edition!