Secretary of State Marco Rubio has been the victim of someone impersonating him by using AI-generated voice and text.
The Washington Post reported the Rubio imposter contacted foreign ministers, a governor, and a member of Congress. The report cited a State Department cable and a “senior U.S. official.”
According to a cable from Rubio’s office, it is possible the imposter wanted “access to information or accounts.”
The officials were contacted by “Rubio” in mid-June via Signal, a messaging app. A warning was distributed by Rubio’s office July 3, per Mediaite.
This is not the first time Signal has been in the news.
Mike Waltz left his post as White House National Security advisor after a reporter was inadvertently invited into a group that was discussing attack plans. After that mishap, Waltz was to be the ambassador of the United Nations. Rubio was them appointed interim National Security advisor.
Rubio was not the only victim of impersonators, per the cable.
In May, President Donald Trump said an imposter claimed to be White House Chief of Staff Susie Wiles in calls to other officials.
“I’ve heard they breached her phone and tried to impersonate her,” Trump said then. “Nobody can impersonate Susie. There’s only one Susie.”
The State Department said it is doing a “thorough investigation and continue to implement safeguards to prevent this from happening in the future.”
