Impostor uses AI to impersonate Rubio and contact foreign and U.S. officials : NPR

WASHINGTON — The State Department is cautioning U.S. diplomats about potential attempts to impersonate Secretary of State Marco Rubio and other officials through advanced artificial intelligence technology, as reported by senior officials and a recent cable sent to all embassies and consulates.

The warning follows the discovery that an imposter, posing as Rubio, attempted to contact several foreign ministers, a U.S. senator, and a governor through text, Signal, and voice messages, according to a cable dated July 3rd. The recipients of these fraudulent messages were not disclosed in the cable, which was shared with The Associated Press.

Department spokeswoman Tammy Bruce stated, “The State Department is aware of this incident and is actively monitoring and addressing the situation. The department places a high priority on safeguarding its information and is continuously enhancing its cybersecurity measures to prevent future incidents.”

Due to security concerns and the ongoing investigation, Bruce declined to provide further comments.

This incident is part of a larger trend where high-profile figures in the Trump administration are targeted by impersonators, as seen in a similar case involving President Donald Trump’s chief of staff, Susie Wiles, back in May. The utilization of AI for deception is expected to increase as the technology advances, with the FBI previously warning about “malicious actors” impersonating senior U.S. government officials.

While the attempts to impersonate Rubio were described as unsophisticated, the State Department deemed it necessary to inform all employees and foreign governments, especially with the rise in foreign efforts to compromise information security.

As the matter is classified, the officials who shared this information chose to remain anonymous.

The FBI has issued a public service announcement about a deceptive campaign involving text and voice messages generated by AI, aiming to deceive government officials and their contacts by impersonating a senior U.S. official.

This is not the first time Rubio has been targeted in a deepfake scheme. In a previous incident, a fabricated video falsely attributed statements to him regarding Ukraine’s access to Elon Musk’s Starlink internet service. The increase in AI misuse for deception has led to proposed solutions such as criminal penalties and enhanced media literacy.

Concerns over deepfakes have prompted the development of new apps and AI systems designed to detect fraudulent content that could easily deceive individuals.

According to computer scientist Siwei Lyu, the competition between tech companies developing detection systems and those creating deepfakes is escalating, with the latter gaining an advantage as AI technology becomes more sophisticated.

The Rubio hoax echoes a previous incident involving text messages and calls sent to prominent individuals from someone who appeared to have accessed contacts from Wiles’ personal cellphone, as reported by The Wall Street Journal in May.

It was reported that some recipients heard a voice resembling Wiles, possibly generated by AI, although the messages did not originate from Wiles’ actual number. Investigations are ongoing.