Marco Rubio impersonator used AI to message high-level officials, report says
The impostor contacted at least three foreign ministers, a US state governor and a member of Congress using both text messaging and the encrypted messaging app Signal, according to the cable dated July 3. Starting in mid-June, the impostor created a Signal account using the display name "Marco.Rubio@state.gov" to contact the unsuspecting officials, it added.
"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," said the cable. The contents of the messages were unclear. The cable added that other State Department personnel were impersonated using email.
Responding to an AFP request for comment, the State Department said it was aware of the incident and was "currently investigating the matter." "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," said a senior State Department official.
The FBI has previously warned that since April, "malicious actors" have impersonated senior US officials to target their contacts, including current and former federal or state government officials. "The malicious actors have sent text messages and AI-generated voice messages – techniques known as smishing and vishing, respectively – that claim to come from a senior US official in an effort to establish rapport before gaining access to personal accounts," the FBI said in May.
In May, President Donald Trump said an impersonator breached the phone of White House Chief of Staff Susie Wiles. US senators, governors and business executives received text messages and phone calls from someone claiming to be Wiles, the Wall Street Journal reported. The breach prompted a White House and FBI investigation, but Trump played down the threat, saying Wiles "can handle it."
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
France 24
an hour ago
- France 24
US sanctions Cuban President and others for human rights violations
The United States announced its first sanctions on Friday against Cuban President Miguel Diaz-Canel for his role "in the Cuban regime's brutality toward the Cuban people." It is the latest in a series of measures by US President Donald Trump 's administration to increase pressure on the Cuban government. The United States was restricting visas for the Cuban president and other high-ranking government officials, Secretary of State Marco Rubio said in an X post on the fourth anniversary of historic anti-government protests in Cuba. Demonstrations rocked the island in July 2021 as thousands took to the streets to protest shortages of basic goods and worsening economic conditions. Hundreds were arrested, one person died and dozens were injured in the lagest protests since Fidel Castro 's 1959 communist revolution. The State Department said it was sanctioning "key regime leaders... for their involvement in gross violations of human rights." Officials sanctioned included Defense Minister Alvaro Lopez Miera and Interior Minister Lazaro Alberto Alvarez Casas. The United States was also taking steps to sanction Cuban judicial and prison officials linked to the "unjust detention and torture of July 2021 protestors." "While the Cuban people suffer shortages of food, water, medicine, and electricity, the regime lavishes money on its insiders," Rubio said. Cuban Foreign Minister Bruno Rodriguez slammed the measures on X, saying the United States cannot "bend the will of its people or its leaders." Johana Tablada, deputy director of the US department in the Cuban Foreign Ministry, lashed out at Rubio, calling him a 'defender of genocide, prisons and mass deportations.' In May, the Cuban foreign ministry summoned the US envoy to Havana to protest his "interference" in the country's internal affairs. The United States has a six-decade-old trade blockade in place against Cuba. Political prisoners Rubio took to X to accuse Cuba of torturing dissident leader Jose Daniel Ferrer and demand "proof of life." "The United States demands immediate proof of life and the release of all political prisoners," Rubio said. According to the United States, 700 people are still imprisoned for taking part in the July 2021 protests. Human rights organizations put the number at between 360 and 420. Some of the convicted protesters have been released in recent months after serving their sentences. Others, including Ferrer -- leader of the dissident group Patriotic Union of Cuba (UNPACU) -- were released as part of a Vatican-mediated agreement in January after former US president Joe Biden removed the island from the blacklist of countries sponsoring terrorism. 09:07 But at the end of April, Ferrer's parole was revoked, prompting criticism from Washington, which has put Cuba back on the blacklist after Trump returned to power. The State Department also added the "Torre K," a 42-story hotel in Havana, to its restricted list of entities off-limits to Americans, "to prevent US dollars from funding the Cuban regime's repression." The establishment, recently inaugurated in a central area of the Cuban capital, sparked criticism of the government's huge investment in new hotels at a time when tourism is declining.
LeMonde
5 hours ago
- LeMonde
US sanctions Cuban president four years after historic protests
The United States announced its first sanctions on Friday, July 11, against Cuban President Miguel Díaz-Canel for his role "in the Cuban regime's brutality toward the Cuban people." It is the latest in a series of measures by US President Donald Trump's administration to increase pressure on the Cuban government. The United States was restricting visas for the Cuban president and other high-ranking government officials, Secretary of State Marco Rubio said in an X post on the fourth anniversary of historic anti-government protests in Cuba. Demonstrations rocked the island in July 2021 as thousands took to the streets to protest shortages of basic goods and worsening economic conditions. Hundreds were arrested, one person died and dozens were injured in the lagest protests since Fidel Castro's 1959 communist revolution. The State Department said it was sanctioning "key regime leaders... for their involvement in gross violations of human rights." Officials sanctioned included Defense Minister Alvaro Lopez Miera and Interior Minister Lazaro Alberto Alvarez Casas. The United States was also taking steps to sanction Cuban judicial and prison officials linked to the "unjust detention and torture of July 2021 protestors." "While the Cuban people suffer shortages of food, water, medicine, and electricity, the regime lavishes money on its insiders," Rubio said. Cuban Foreign Minister Bruno Rodriguez slammed the measures on X, saying the United States cannot "bend the will of its people or its leaders." Help us improve Le Monde in English Dear reader, We'd love to hear your thoughts on Le Monde in English! Take this quick survey to help us improve it for you. Take the survey In May, the Cuban foreign ministry summoned the US envoy to Havana to protest his "interference" in the country's internal affairs. The United States has a six-decade-old trade blockade in place against Cuba. 'Proof of life' Rubio took to X to accuse Cuba of torturing dissident leader Jose Daniel Ferrer and demand "proof of life." "The United States demands immediate proof of life and the release of all political prisoners," Rubio said. According to the United States, 700 people are still imprisoned for taking part in the July 2021 protests. Human rights organizations put the number at between 360 and 420. Some of the convicted protesters have been released in recent months after serving their sentences. Others, including Ferrer – leader of the dissident group Patriotic Union of Cuba (UNPACU) -–were released as part of a Vatican-mediated agreement in January after former US president Joe Biden removed the island from the blacklist of countries sponsoring terrorism. But at the end of April, Ferrer's parole was revoked, prompting criticism from Washington, which has put Cuba back on the blacklist after Trump returned to power. The State Department also added the "Torre K," a 42-story hotel in Havana, to its restricted list of entities off-limits to Americans, "to prevent US dollars from funding the Cuban regime's repression." The establishment, recently inaugurated in a central area of the Cuban capital, sparked criticism of the government's huge investment in new hotels at a time when tourism is declining.
France 24
9 hours ago
- France 24
US sanctions Cuban president four years after historic protests
The US State Department was "restricting visas" for the president and other high-ranking government officials, Secretary of State Marco Rubio said in an X post on the fourth anniversary of historic anti-government protests in Cuba. Other officials sanctioned included Defense Minister Alvaro Lopez Miera and Interior Minister Lazaro Alberto Alvarez Casas. Cuban Foreign Minister Bruno Rodriguez slammed the latest measures on X, saying that US President Donald Trump's administration cannot "bend the will of its people or its leaders." The State Department also added the "Torre K," a 42-story hotel in Havana, to its restricted list of entities "to prevent U.S. dollars from funding the Cuban regime's repression." The establishment, recently inaugurated in a central area of the Cuban capital, sparked criticism of the government's huge investment in new hotels at a time when tourism is declining. "While the Cuban people suffer shortages of food, water, medicine, and electricity, the regime lavishes money on its insiders," Rubio said. Rubio also took to X to accuse Cuba of torturing dissident leader Jose Daniel Ferrer, four years after the government crushed massive protests. "The United States demands immediate proof of life and the release of all political prisoners," Rubio said. Hundreds of people were arrested in the July 2021 demonstrations, the largest since the Cuban revolution in the 1950s. They resulted in one death and dozens of wounded. Ferrer, leader of the dissident group Patriotic Union of Cuba (UNPACU), was among 553 prisoners released in January after former US president Joe Biden agreed to remove the island from the blacklist of countries sponsoring terrorism. But at the end of April, his parole was revoked, prompting criticism from Washington, which has put Cuba back on the blacklist after Trump returned to power.
