According to a State Department cable obtained by a senior U.S. official and The Washington Post, an individual impersonating U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio used AI-driven software to mimic Rubio's voice and writing style, sending voice and text messages to multiple foreign ministers, a U.S. governor, and a member of Congress.
The U.S. is currently unclear about who is behind these impersonations, but according to an email from Rubio's office to State Department employees, authorities believe the actions were likely intended to manipulate high-ranking government officials to "obtain information or account access."
This operation impersonating Rubio began in mid-June, when the impersonator created an account on the encrypted messaging app Signal, displaying the name "Marco.Rubio@state.gov," and contacted unsuspecting domestic and foreign diplomats and politicians with this identity, although this was not Rubio's actual email address. In addition to Rubio, other State Department personnel's identities were also impersonated via email.
The U.S. State Department responded that it would "conduct a thorough investigation and continue implementing security measures to prevent such incidents from happening again."
This is not the first incident of a U.S. senior official being impersonated. According to The Wall Street Journal, in May this year, someone hacked into Susie Wiles, the White House Chief of Staff's phone, and impersonated her to call and send messages to several senators, governors, and corporate executives.
Original: https://www.toutiao.com/article/1837088811300871/
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