A person posing as United States Secretary Marco Rubio contacted several key figures including foreign ministers, a US governor and a member of the US Congress, using artificial intelligence to modify their voice and writing style to imitate that of Rubio, according to a diplomatic cable accessed by The Washington Post.
The person behind the impersonation attempts is not yet known. According to US officials, the imposter tried to manipulate key government figures with AI-generated text and voice messages “with the goal of gaining access to information or accounts,” said the cable, which was sent by Rubio’s office to the US State Department employees dated July 3, the report said.
The impersonator first reached out to officials and foreign ministers in mid-June by creating an account on encrypted messaging app Signal. It made a profile with the display name Marco.Rubio@state.gov. The Trump administration uses Signal app extensively, the report added.
“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,” read the cable.
What US state department said
Without giving names of the people who were targeted and the contents of the messages sent to them, the state department said it would “carry out a thorough investigation and continue to implement safeguards to prevent this from happening in the future,” when asked about the cable, the Post reported.
{{/usCountry}}Without giving names of the people who were targeted and the contents of the messages sent to them, the state department said it would “carry out a thorough investigation and continue to implement safeguards to prevent this from happening in the future,” when asked about the cable, the Post reported.
{{/usCountry}}"The State Department is aware of this incident and is currently investigating the matter," said a US state department official on the condition of anonymity, reported Reuters.
"The Department takes seriously its responsibility to safeguard its information and continuously takes steps to improve the department’s cybersecurity posture to prevent future incidents," the official added.
The cable was also sent to all diplomatic and consular posts and has asked them to report any fake accounts and impersonation attempts, the Reuters report said.
"There is no direct cyber threat to the department from this campaign, but information shared with a third party could be exposed if targeted individuals are compromised," said the cable.
Other impersonation attempt
In a similar attempt earlier this year, someone tried to impersonate White House Chief of Staff Susie Wiles by breaching her phone and calling and messaging key figures including senators, governors and business executives while masquerading as her, reported the Wall Street Journal.
While the matter sparked a probe by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the White House, President Trump brushed off the matter’s seriousness and said that Wiles is “an amazing woman” who “can handle it”, the Post report said.