Artificial Intelligence is causing major problems for Secretary of State Marco Rubio, as an imposter runs amok.
According to a report from The Washington Post writers John Hudson and Hannah Natanson, a person using AI to spoof the secretary of state’s voice has been contacting high-level officials, including “at least five non-Department individuals, including three foreign ministers, a U.S. governor, and a U.S. member of Congress.”
“The impersonation campaign began in mid-June when the impostor created a Signal account using the display name ‘[email protected]’ to contact unsuspecting foreign and domestic diplomats and politicians, said the cable. The display name is not his real email address,” the outlet explained.
While it’s unclear what the imposter’s exact motivations are, it is believed that this is a not-so-thinly-veiled attempt to gain access to classified and/or sensitive information available to Rubio due to his position.
“The actor left voicemails on Signal for at least two targeted individuals and in one instance, sent a text message inviting the individual to communicate on Signal,” the cable read.
The State Department is aware of the ongoing campaign and promised to “carry out a thorough investigation and continue to implement safeguards to prevent this from happening in the future.”
“In addition to the effort to impersonate Rubio, several recent impersonation attempts have targeted high-profile U.S. officials. In May, someone breached the phone of White House Chief of Staff Susie Wiles and began placing calls and messages to senators, governors and business executives while pretending to be Wiles, the Wall Street Journal reported. The episode spurred a White House and FBI investigation, although President Donald Trump dismissed its significance, saying Wiles is ‘an amazing woman’ who ‘can handle it,'” the WaPo article continued.
If caught, the imposter may face federal criminal charges, as impersonating a federal employee/officer to deceive or obtain something is a crime.
Writers and editors can be contacted at [email protected] with feedback, tips, or corrections.
Sierra Marlee is a millennial whose hunger for the truth in a world of fake news has led her to write. Marlee also contributes to BizPac Review.
Comment
We have no tolerance for comments containing violence, racism, profanity, vulgarity, doxing, or discourteous behavior. If a comment is spam, instead of replying to it please click the ∨ icon below and to the right of that comment. Thank you for partnering with us to maintain fruitful conversation.