Impostor Used AI To Pose As Marco Rubio And Contact Foreign Ministers On Signal: 'Precisely Why You Shouldn't Use Insecure Channels'

An impostor used the Signal messaging app to pose as Secretary of State Marco Rubio and contact domestic and foreign officials by using artificial intelligence, according to a new report.

Concretely, a cable sent by Rubio's office to the rest of the State Department detailed that the impostor contacted at least three foreign minister, a U.S. governor and a U.S. member of Congress, the Washington Post reported.

The document added that it is still unknown who is behind the impersonation attempts, but officials believe the person is likely seeking to gain "access to information or accounts."

The campaign, the cable said, began in mid-June. The person created a Signal account with the name Marco.Rubio@state.gov and began contacting officials. "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," according to the document. Other State Department officials were also impersonated.

The State Department said it would "carry out a thorough investigation and continue to implement safeguards to prevent this from happening in the future." It declined to disclose the content of the messages and the identity of the officials targeted.

Hany Farid, a professor at the University of California at Berkeley specialized in digital forensics told the Wahsington Post that "this is precisely why you shouldn't use Signal or other insecure channels for official governments," a reference to a string of scandals involving the use of the platform by high-ranking Trump officials.

Mike Waltz left his post as National Security Adviser in May after he came under heavy scrutiny following the inadvertent addition of a journalist to a Signal chat where highly sensitive information related to an upcoming attack on Yemen's Houthi rebels was discussed.

Moreover, just minutes before the strike, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth shared sensitive operational details via the same app. Within 10 minutes of receiving the secure update, Hegseth shared elements of it with two Signal group chats. The Pentagon downplayed concerns, with spokesperson Sean Parnell insisting the messages were unclassified and aimed at media coordination. Hegseth defended his actions publicly, brushing off reports as politically motivated attempts to discredit him.