AI-Powered Impersonation Scheme Targets Senior Officials in the U.S.

In June, a sophisticated impersonation scheme came to light, which leveraged artificial intelligence to simulate the voice of U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio. This operation reached out to multiple high-profile individuals, including three foreign ministers, a U.S. governor, and a member of Congress, primarily via the Signal messaging app, and left AI-generated voicemails for at least two of the targets.

According to a diplomatic cable reviewed by Reuters, the impersonator aimed to deceive these officials using artificially created messages to gain unauthorized access to sensitive information or accounts. Further communication efforts included sending text invitations requesting that the recipients continue the conversation on Signal.

A senior official from the State Department, who requested anonymity, confirmed the agency's awareness of this incident and noted that an investigation was underway. The department is committed to enhancing its cybersecurity measures to protect against such impersonation attempts and to safeguard sensitive information.

The diplomatic cable, dated July 3, instructed U.S. diplomatic and consular posts to alert external partners about the rising threat of impersonation campaigns and fake digital identities. Although there is no immediate cyber threat linked to this campaign, there is a concern that if the targeted officials are compromised, it could expose sensitive information shared with third parties.

The cable indirectly referenced a previous incident from April, attributed to a hacker associated with Russia. In that earlier case, attackers employed a spoofed "@state.gov" email address and utilized official Bureau of Diplomatic Technology logos, indicating their familiarity with the State Department's operational procedures. The messages in that incident were directed toward private Gmail accounts and were associated with a cyber actor linked to the Russian Foreign Intelligence Service.

This recent impersonation scheme coincides with ongoing investigations by U.S. federal authorities into another incident involving an attempt to impersonate the White House chief of staff, Susie Wiles.