In a shocking cyber twist, someone used artificial intelligence to impersonate Marco Rubio, the US Secretary of State, and targeted foreign leaders. At least five people were contacted, including three foreign ministers, a US governor, and a member of Congress.
The goal? Gain access to their private information and accounts.
This wasn’t a joke or some silly prank. A US diplomatic cable confirmed the threat and warned embassies worldwide. It said that cyber attackers are now faking top officials using AI—via email, text, and even voice messages.
Fake Marco Rubio on Signal
The scam started in mid-June. The fake “Marco Rubio” used the messaging app Signal. He made an account with the name “marco.rubio@state.gov” and left voicemails and texts pretending to be the real Rubio.
He told one target to message him on Signal. All of this was powered by AI-generated text and voice—made to sound real and trustworthy.
But the intent was dark: steal secrets, break into accounts, and possibly influence decisions.
Two Cyber Campaigns, One Big Risk
The Marco Rubio incident is one of two major cyber campaigns tracked by the State Department. The other one? A Russia-linked hacker group running a phishing scam since April.
That group used fake State Department emails to trick academics, activists, and journalists. The hackers even created fake meeting invites, asking people to connect third-party apps to Gmail.
If they did, their whole inbox was open to the attackers.
This scam was deeply planned. Experts say the hackers had deep knowledge of how the State Department writes its emails. They even mimicked its language and format perfectly.
APT29 and Russian Links
Security experts believe this second campaign is tied to APT29—a top-level Russian hacker group. It’s suspected to be working with Russia’s spy agency, the SVR.
Unlike old-school scams, this was personal. The hackers built slow, long conversations to earn trust. That’s new for APT29, which usually targets people in bulk.
The US government is now asking diplomats to warn others. If anyone sees a message from “Marco Rubio,” they should report it. Fast.
The FBI is investigating but hasn’t shared more details. The State Department also said it is taking steps to improve cybersecurity.
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