In a perfect example of why it's an absolutely terrible idea for high-level government officials to use personal cell phones, text messaging platforms, and apps like Signal, secretary of state Marco Rubio has fallen victim to a scammer who's been using AI to clone his voice and writing style.
As the Washington Post reports, a July 3 State Department cable revealed that an impostor posing as Rubio had "contacted at least five non-Department individuals, including three foreign ministers, a US governor, and a US. member of Congress" with the "goal of gaining access to information or accounts."
"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 reads.
While officials promised to "carry out a thorough investigation and continue to implement safeguards to prevent this from happening in the future," the incident highlights some glaring cybersecurity gaps among Trump administration officials.
"This is precisely why you shouldn’t use Signal or other insecure channels for official government business," University of California at Berkeley professor Hany Farid told WaPo, noting that government officials can have major blind spots when it comes to data security.
The news also comes after the phone of White House chief of staff Susie Wiles was breached, triggering an FBI investigation.
At the time, the intelligence agency warned that "malicious actors" were impersonating US officials as part of an "ongoing malicious text and voice messaging campaign."
In an even more incriminating instance earlier this year, The Atlantic's editor-in-chief, Jeffrey Goldberg, was accidentally added to a group text message between key national security advisers as they discussed an upcoming military strike in Yemen.
According to Goldberg, an account related to Rubio was included in the group chat, meaning this month's impersonation attempt wasn't the first high-profile operational security blunder of his short tenure.
Despite his poor cybersecurity record, Rubio has since been appointed as the president's national security advisor.
... continue reading