Rubio's Imitaters Use AI In Calls To Foreign Ministers And Politicians

US Secretary of State, Marco Rubio (photo; x @SecRubio)

JAKARTA A fraudster used artificially generated voices to emulate US Secretary of State, Marco Rubio, in contact with three foreign ministers and two US politicians. This was revealed, according to a diplomatic wire on Tuesday, July 8.

In mid-June, the person contacted ministers, a US governor, and a member of Congress via the Signal messaging app, the wire reads. Voice messages were left in two cases and text messages in a third case invited targeted people to communicate on Signal.

"The actor is likely aimed at manipulating individuals targeted using AI-generated text and voice messages, with the aim of gaining access to information or accounts," the wire said, as quoted by VOI from Reuters. The campaign was first reported by The Washington Post. The State Department has not responded to a request for comment.

The State Department wire, dated July 3, was sent to all diplomatic and consular posts and suggested staff should warn external partners about fake accounts and impersonations.

"There is no cyber threat directly to the department of this campaign, but information shared with third parties can be exposed if the targeted individuals are compromised," he said.

The wire also refers to the second attempt in April to be linked to hackers linked to Russia. The hacker carried out a phishing spear campaign targeting Eastern European think tank, activist and dissident, as well as former State Department officials.

The perpetrator copied the fake "@state.gov" email address on the messages as well as the logo and branding used by the State Department's Diplomatic Technology Bureau, the wire said.

"The actor shows broad knowledge about the departmental naming convention and internal documentation," he said. In the campaign, the person disguised himself as a State Department official in a message sent to a private Gmail account.

The State Department said industry partners linked the campaign to cyber actors linked to the Russian Foreign Intelligence Service.