by Danny Bradbury
Jul. 14.– Deepfake attacks aren’t just for recruitment and banking fraud; they’ve now reached the 
highest levels of government. News emerged this week of an AI-powered attack that impersonated US Secretary of State Marco Rubio. Authorities don’t know who was behind the incident.
A US State Department cable seen by the Washington Post warned that someone impersonated Rubio’s voice and writing style in voice and text messages on the Signal messaging app. The attacker reportedly tried to gain access to information or accounts by contacting multiple government officials in Rubio’s name. Their targets included three foreign ministers, a US governor, and a US member of Congress, the cable said.
The attacker created a Signal account with the display name ‘Marco.Rubio@state.gov’ and invited targets to communicate on Signal.
The AI factor in the attacks likely refers to deepfakes. These are a form of digital mimicry, in which attackers use audio or visual footage of a person to create convincing audio or images of them. Many have even created fake videos of their targets, using them for deepfake pornography or to impersonate businesspeople.
The Rubio deepfake isn’t the first time that impersonators have targeted government officials. In May, someone impersonated White House Chief of Staff Susie Wiles ...
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