SIM Farm in NYC Could Have Shut Down Cell Service, Officials Warn - 1

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SIM Farm in NYC Could Have Shut Down Cell Service, Officials Warn

  • Written by Kiara Fabbri Former Tech News Writer
  • Fact-Checked by Sarah Frazier Former Content Manager

The US Secret Service discovered a large SIM farm operation located near New York City, raising concerns about potential future threats.

In a rush? Here are the quick facts:

  • The farm’s 300 servers could have disabled cell networks across New York City.
  • Network could send 30 million texts per minute.
  • Experts say SIM farms are mainly used for fraud, scams, and fake accounts.

The officials disclosed on Tuesday that they located more than 100,000 SIM cards linked to about 300 servers spread across 35 miles from Manhattan, as first reported by WIRED . These criminal devices , often called SIM servers or SIM boxes, allow for massive spam text and call operations.

The Secret Service said the farm came to its attention after it was linked to “swatting” attacks against members of Congress in December 2023.

“Given the number of SIM cards all under the control of a single operation, it could have ‘disabled cell phone towers and essentially shut down the cell phone network in New York City,’” Matt McCool, the special agent in charge of the Secret Service’s New York field office, told WIRED..

Another law enforcement source said: “This network could be used to overwhelm cell towers… to give you an idea of capacity for disruption, this network could be used to send approximately 30 million text messages per minute, meaning it could anonymously text the entire United States in around 12 minutes,” as reported by WIRED.

The Secret Service confirmed the SIM farm had been used by organized crime and nation-state actors. The investigators took possession of the equipment but no one has been arrested, as reported by WIRED.

Experts believe the primary purpose was fraud. “The disruption of cell services is possible, flooding the network to the degree that it couldn’t take any more traffic,” said Ben Coon of Unit 221b, as reported by WIRED. “My gut is telling me there was some type of fraud involved here,” Coon added.

While SIM farms are not new, the scale of this operation and its proximity to critical US infrastructure have amplified concerns about their potential for disruption.

Indian Vibe-Coding App Rocket Raises $15 Million - 2

Photo by Danial Igdery on Unsplash

Indian Vibe-Coding App Rocket Raises $15 Million

  • Written by Andrea Miliani Former Tech News Expert
  • Fact-Checked by Sarah Frazier Former Content Manager

The Indian startup Rocket announced on Tuesday that it raised $15 million in seed funding to develop its vibe coding platform.

In a rush? Here are the quick facts:

  • Rocket raised $15 million in seed funding to develop its vibe coding platform.
  • The startup, launched in June, already has over 400,000 customers across 180 countries.
  • Rocket reached $4.5 million in annual recurring revenue and aims to hit $20 to $25 million by the end of the year.

The Indian startup Rocket announced on Tuesday that it raised $15 million in seed funding to develop its vibe coding platform.

According to Rocket’s announcement , the funding round included participation from top investors such as Accel, Salesforce Ventures, and the Together Fund.

“Our job is simple: make it possible for anyone from a Fortune 100 PM to a two-person agency to move from intent → product without brittle code or endless rework,” wrote Vishal Virani, CEO and Co-founder of Rocket. “This capital has one job: help us deliver the vision faster and sturdier.”

Virani disclosed that Rocket has 400,000 users across 180 countries—from Brazil to Dubai, India, and the United States—including well-established companies and Fortune 100s, as well as users with small projects.

Rocket—based in Surat, India—is only “16 weeks old.” It was launched in June this year, in beta mode, and it has been expanding rapidly. The “vibe coding market” has evolved at a significant speed in 2025.

The startup faces leading competitors such as Lovable, which announced a new record in Annual Recurring Revenue, positioning itself to become the fastest-growing startup in history .

Virani noted that what makes Rocket stand out is its vision and focus on developing ready-to-use products and not mockups, distinguishing between “vibe coding” and “vibe solutioning”—the latter being the company’s ultimate goal.

According to TechCrunch, Rocket already reached $4.5 million in annual recurring revenue and aims to hit $20 to $25 million by the end of the year, and up to $70 million by June next year.

Part of the company’s strategy is to develop a highly efficient agentic system that can handle multiple tasks—such as app and website development, product development, and competitive search—reducing the need for product managers.

“Our entire agentic system will help organizations build all kinds of functions around products—not just generating the source code—but even a facility to scale their product—all by giving natural-language prompts,” said Virani during an interview with TechCrunch.