AI Impersonates Marco Rubio: At Least Five Contacts, Including Foreign Ministers, Targeted – CNN Politics

Someone used artificial intelligence to impersonate Secretary of State Marco Rubio. This person contacted several important figures, including foreign ministers, a U.S. governor, and even a member of Congress. The goal? To gain access to valuable information, according to a U.S. diplomatic cable.

Diplomats worldwide are now advised to alert their external partners about this cyber impersonation. The cable reveals that this is just one of two cyber campaigns being tracked by the State Department, both of which involve impersonating U.S. officials via email and messaging apps.

The impersonator created an account on the messaging platform Signal in mid-June, using a display name similar to Rubio’s official email. They even left voicemails and sent messages encouraging targets to communicate via Signal. Experts believe the impersonator aimed to manipulate these individuals using AI-generated text and voice messages.

Interestingly, this isn’t the first incident of its kind. The FBI is currently investigating past impersonation attempts involving senior U.S. officials. For instance, there was a recent focus on someone impersonating Trump’s chief of staff, Susie Wiles. If anyone encounters similar impersonations of Rubio, they are advised to report it to the FBI’s Internet Crime Complaint Center.

The State Department is aware of the situation and is investigating. They emphasize their commitment to safeguarding information and improving cybersecurity to prevent such incidents in the future.

The cable also mentions a second campaign tied to a “Russia-linked cyber actor.” This campaign targets personal Gmail accounts of activists, journalists, and others connected to think tanks. The impersonator posed as a fictitious Department official, inviting targets to meetings and trying to convince them to link apps to their Gmail, which would grant the hacker access to personal information.

Research from Google and the University of Toronto’s Citizen Lab shows that these efforts are part of a larger pattern. They highlight a significant increase in attempts to infiltrate the digital lives of academics and critics of Russia. One target even noted that the attackers used fake email accounts with a government domain to lend credibility to their efforts.

Security researcher Gabby Roncone noted that these Russian-linked hackers are conducting extensive rapport-building efforts, unlike previous, broader phishing attacks. The shift highlights the evolving tactics used in cyber espionage.

As we move deeper into the digital age, the importance of cybersecurity cannot be overstated. A report from Cybersecurity Ventures projects that global cybercrime costs will exceed $10.5 trillion annually by 2025. Protecting sensitive information is more critical than ever, as the threat landscape continues to evolve.

The rising concern over cybersecurity has led experts to advise organizations to improve their security measures continuously. With technology growing rapidly, staying ahead of cyber threats is a necessary priority.

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