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3w ago

AI Impersonator Posing as Marco Rubio Contacts Foreign Officials

The State Department has opened a probe into the mid-June smishing campaign, prompting an overhaul of secure messaging protocols

Le secrétaire d'Etat américain, Marco Rubio, à Washington, le 20 mai 2025.
À la mi-juin, l’imposteur a créé un compte sur Signal avec, comme nom d’utilisateur, «Marco.Rubio@state.gov».

Overview

  • In mid-June, an unidentified actor created a fake Signal account “Marco.Rubio@state.gov” and used AI to generate SMS and voice messages impersonating Rubio.
  • Messages reached at least three foreign ministers, a U.S. governor and a member of Congress, aiming to gain access to sensitive information or accounts.
  • State Department spokesperson Tammy Bruce confirmed the department is investigating the incident and is implementing enhanced cybersecurity measures for official communications.
  • The FBI has warned since April about AI-enabled “smishing” and “vishing” campaigns targeting senior U.S. officials and their contacts.
  • Cybersecurity experts caution against using non-hardened encrypted platforms like Signal for official state business in light of rising AI-driven identity spoofing.