Secret agent uses artificial intelligence to impersonate US Secretary of State

The person impersonating the US Secretary of State contacted at least three foreign secretaries of state, a US state governor and a member of Congress via text messages and the encrypted Signal app.

Recently, an unidentified person used artificial intelligence (AI) to impersonate US Secretary of State Marco Rubio to approach high-ranking officials and foreign counterparts through messaging and voicemail applications.

According to a cable sent from Mr. Rubio's office on July 8, the impersonator contacted at least three foreign secretaries of state, a US state governor and a member of Congress via text messages and the encrypted application Signal.

The subject used an account with the display name “Marco.Rubio@state.gov” to send fake voicemails and invite officials to continue the conversation through the secure platform.

The specific content of the messages was not released, but the notice warned that the behavior could be aimed at accessing sensitive information or gaining access to personal accounts.

The US State Department confirmed it was aware of the incident and was cooperating with the investigation. An official said the agency takes information protection seriously and is strengthening cybersecurity measures to prevent similar incidents.

Previously, the US Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) warned of a growing trend of AI-generated text message and voicemail scams - also known as "smishing" and "vishing" - that impersonate government officials to steal personal information.

In May, a similar incident involving White House Chief of Staff Susie Wiles also prompted the White House and FBI to open an investigation after multiple officials and business leaders received calls and text messages impersonating Ms. Wiles.

The use of encrypted messaging platforms like Signal in government work has also been controversial. In March, national security adviser Michael Waltz was forced to resign after accidentally adding a journalist to a Signal group discussing U.S. airstrikes in Yemen.

The development of deepfake technology and AI voice copying tools is raising concerns among experts and authorities about the risk of being exploited to commit fraud, manipulate information or damage the reputation of political figures.

Last year, a fake call from former President Joe Biden urging voters not to vote in New Hampshire led to a federal investigation into election interference./.

(Vietnam+)

Source: https://www.vietnamplus.vn/nhan-vat-bi-mat-dung-tri-tue-nhan-tao-de-gia-mao-ngoai-truong-my-post1048687.vnp