Foreign Minister Penny Wong declines to confirm whether she was targeted by Marco Rubio impersonator
First reported by The Washington Post, the scammer sent fake texts and voice messages to at least five targets that included three foreign ministers, a US governor and a member of congress.
Some messages were sent via texts, while others used the encrypted messaging app Signal.
The scam was identified in a State Department cable dated July 3 that warned the impostor 'likely aimed to manipulate targeted individuals using AI-generated text and voice messages, with the goal of gaining access to information or accounts'.
It also warned that the 'actor demonstrated extensive knowledge of the department's naming conventions and internal documentation'.
Written messages used branding resembling material used by the Department of State's Bureau of Diplomatic Technology as well as a fake @state.gov email address.
A spokeswoman for Senator Wong, who is travelling to Malaysia for the ASEAN Summit, declined to comment on whether the minister was impacted and said the office would not comment during ongoing investigations.
The US State Department has confirmed it is 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,' a senior department official said.
The scandal comes just months after then-national security adviser Mike Waltz added high-profile The Atlantic journalist Jeffrey Goldberg into a group chat also on Signal that discussed plans to launch strikes on Houthi rebels in Yemen.
Members of the group also included Mr Rubio as well as US Vice President JD Vance and Defence Secretary Peter Hegseth.
As a result of the scandal, Mr Waltz was ousted as the national security adviser and replaced by Mr Rubio.
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