Someone posing as Secretary of State\u00a0Marco Rubio\u00a0has been contacting U.S. officials using AI-generated voice and text.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The Washington Post\u2019s<\/em>\u00a0John Hudson\u00a0and\u00a0Hannah Natanson\u00a0reported<\/a>\u00a0this week, citing a State Department cable and a \u201csenior U.S. official,\u201d that the imposter Rubio contacted foreign ministers, a governor, and a member of Congress. The cable from Rubio\u2019s office reportedly theorizes that the imposter is trying to gain \u201caccess to information or accounts.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n The impersonation campaign began in mid-June when the impostor created a Signal account using the display name \u201cMarco.Rubio@state.gov\u201d to contact unsuspecting foreign and domestic diplomats and politicians, said the cable. The display name is not his real email address.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cThe 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,\u201d said the cable. It also noted that other State Department personnel were impersonated using email.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n When asked about the cable, the State Department responded that it would \u201ccarry out a thorough investigation and continue to implement safeguards to prevent this from happening in the future.\u201d Officials declined to discuss the contents of the messages or the names of the diplomats and officials who were targeted.<\/p>\n\n\n\n This is not the first time someone has tried posing as a high-level official. President\u00a0Donald Trump\u00a0said in May that an imposter\u00a0posed\u00a0as White House Chief of Staff\u00a0Susie Wiles\u00a0in calls to other officials.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cI\u2019ve heard they breached her phone and tried to impersonate her,\u201d the president said at the time. \u201cNobody can impersonate Susie. There\u2019s only one Susie.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n Signal was at the center of recent controversy with\u00a0Mike Waltz\u00a0leaving<\/a>\u00a0his post as White House National Security advisor after a reporter was accidentally invited into a group discussing attack plans. Waltz was then nominated to be the ambassador of the United Nations, while Rubio was\u00a0appointed interim<\/a>\u00a0National Security advisor.<\/p>\n\n\n\n In May, the FBI issued a warning that \u201cmalicious actors\u201d were impersonating senior U.S. officials in an \u201congoing malicious text and voice messaging campaign\u201d intended to target other senior government leaders and their contacts. The campaign relied on AI-generated voice messages, according to the FBI, and was likely meant to \u201celicit information or funds.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cIf you receive a message claiming to be from a senior U.S. official,\u201d the FBI warned<\/a> at the time, \u201cdo not assume it is authentic.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n
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