Impersonator using AI technology allegedly contacted top-tier government officials, claims sources.
In recent months, there have been several notable instances of impersonation targeting American officials using AI-generated voice and text messages.
#### Case of Marco Rubio
In July 2025, an impersonator used AI to mimic the voice of U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio in calls to high-ranking government officials. This included contacting three foreign ministers, a U.S. governor, and a member of Congress via text or voice messages on Signal. The impersonator used a Signal account with the display name "[email protected]" (which is not a functional email address) to contact these officials, aiming to gain access to information or accounts.
U.S. authorities have not identified who is behind the impersonation, but it is suspected to be part of a broader effort to manipulate government officials. The State Department is investigating the incident and is taking steps to improve its cybersecurity posture.
#### Other Incidents
Before the Rubio incident, the FBI issued a warning in May 2025 about a campaign targeting senior U.S. officials with text and voice messages. This campaign targeted current and former government officials and their contacts, highlighting the evolving threat of AI-powered impersonation.
In May, an impersonator breached the phone of White House Chief of Staff Susie Wiles. Starting in mid-June, the imposter left voicemails on Signal for at least two targeted individuals and sent a text message inviting one individual to communicate on Signal.
The ease with which AI can generate convincing audio clips—requiring only seconds of recorded audio—makes any public figure vulnerable to such scams. The proliferation of AI voice cloning tools has raised concerns among disinformation researchers about the impact of audio deepfakes to impersonate or smear celebrities and politicians.
These incidents underscore the growing risk of AI voice-cloning technology being used to impersonate senior officials, potentially leading to unauthorized access to sensitive information or manipulation of government actions. The authorities are urging increased vigilance and caution in dealing with such communications, particularly those that seem unusual or suspicious.
Cybersecurity experts are concerned that the use of AI-generated voice and text messages for impersonating American officials, as seen in the case of Marco Rubio and Susie Wiles, could be a significant threat to national security. The ease of creating convincing audio clips with AI voice-cloning technology, as highlighted in the proliferation of such tools, could potentially lead to unauthorized access to sensitive information or manipulation of political actions, underscoring the need for improved cybersecurity measures and heightened vigilance in the realm of politics, technology, general-news, and crime-and-justice.
