President Donald Trump’s administration is reportedly battling impersonation campaigns amid warnings that artificial intelligence-powered security threats are becoming increasingly more common.
An unknown culprit reportedly used AI to imitate Secretary of State Marco Rubio’s voice to contact top officials, according to a July 3 cable from the State Department obtained by the Washington Post.
‘The actor left voicemails on Signal for at least two targeted individuals and in one instance, sent a text message inviting the individual to communicate on Signal.’
The individual reportedly used text messaging and Signal to contact “at least five non-Department individuals, including three foreign ministers, a U.S. governor, and a U.S. member of Congress.”
The imposter apparently began the scheme in mid-June, creating a Signal account with the display name “Marco.Rubio@state.gov,” which is not Rubio’s official email address.
“The actor left voicemails on Signal for at least two targeted individuals and in one instance, sent a text message inviting the individual to communicate on Signal,” the agency’s cable read.
The State Department speculated that the culprit was likely attempting to manipulate the officials “with the goal of gaining access to information or accounts.”
The department’s correspondence did not reveal the names of the officials whom the imposter contacted, the contents of the messages, or whether those officials responded.
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Photo by Win McNamee/Getty Images
Bad actors also impersonated other State Department personnel, according to the federal agency.
The State Department told the Post that it would “carry out a thorough investigation and continue to implement safeguards to prevent this from happening in the future.”
The Bureau of Diplomatic Security is investigating the incident. The State Department urged U.S. diplomats to report any impersonation attempts to the bureau, while non-State Department personnel should alert the FBI’s Internet Crime Complaint Center.
This is not the first time that the Trump administration has faced impersonation attempts.
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White House Chief of Staff Susie Wiles. Photo by Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images
In May, a fraudster reportedly breached the phone of White House Chief of Staff Susie Wiles. The culprit impersonated Wiles while making calls and sending messages to senators, governors, and business executives.
Around the same time, the FBI issued a public service announcement warning that “malicious actors” had been impersonating U.S. officials since April, sending text messages and AI-generated voice messages to gain access to personal accounts.
“One way the actors gain such access is by sending targeted individuals a malicious link under the guise of transitioning to a separate messaging platform. Access to personal or official accounts operated by U.S. officials could be used to target other government officials, or their associates and contacts, by using trusted contact information they obtain,” the FBI’s alert read.
The FBI declined a request for comment from the Post.
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