US Secretary of State Marco Rubio impersonated by AI in Signal voicemails to high-ranking officials

“The Department takes seriously its responsibility to safeguard its information and continuously takes steps to improve the department’s cybersecurity posture to prevent future incidents,” the official added.

In mid-May, the FBI said malicious actors were using text messages and AI-generated voice messages to impersonate senior US officials in a scheme to gain access to the personal accounts of state and federal government officials.

Access to targets’ accounts could be used to go after other government officials or their associates and contacts, and could also be used to elicit information or funds, the FBI said in a public service announcement.

The FBI declined to comment.

Neither the cable nor the US officials pointed to a suspected perpetrator. However, the cable referred to a second effort in April that was attributed to a Russia-linked hacker who conducted a phishing campaign targeting think tanks, Eastern European activists and dissidents and former State Department officials.

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In that attempt, the perpetrator copied a fake “@state.gov” email address on the messages as well as logos and branding used by State’s Bureau of Diplomatic Technology, it said.

“The actor demonstrated extensive knowledge of the department’s naming conventions and internal documentation,” it said.

In that campaign, the person posed as a State Department official in messages sent to private Gmail accounts.

The State Department said industry partners attributed that campaign to a cyber actor associated with the Russian Foreign Intelligence Service.