US diplomatic sources say an unidentified individual used Signal messaging app to impersonate Secretary Marco Rubio, and reached out to three foreign ministers, a US state governor and a member of Congress
WASHINGTON: (UrduPoint/Pakistan Point News-July 8th, 2025) An imposter used an artificial intelligence-generated voice of US Secretary of State Marco Rubio to contact senior American officials and foreign ministers, raising serious concerns over cybersecurity vulnerabilities in encrypted communication platforms.
According to US diplomatic sources, an unidentified individual used the Signal messaging app to impersonate Secretary Marco Rubio, reaching out to three foreign ministers, a US state governor, and a member of Congress.
Using advanced AI technology, the impersonator not only mimicked Rubio’s voice with remarkable accuracy but also replicated his writing style in text messages.
In mid-June, the fraudster created a fake Signal account under the name “[email protected].” The account was used to send both voice and text messages, inviting recipients to communicate further via Signal.
A statement from the US State Department confirmed that the purpose of the cyberattack was to mislead officials and potentially gain access to sensitive information or secure systems.
The department announced that a full investigation is underway and that additional security measures will be implemented to prevent similar incidents in the future.
This breach comes just months after the so-called "Signalgate" scandal, in which a journalist was accidentally added to a secure group chat involving top US military and government officials — including the Secretary of State and the Secretary of Defense.
In that chat, the US Secretary of Defense reportedly shared real-time updates on sensitive military operations in Yemen, prompting serious national security concerns.
It was later discovered that former National Security Advisor Mike Waltz had mistakenly added The Atlantic editor Jeffrey Goldberg to the group. Waltz was subsequently removed from his position, and Marco Rubio temporarily assumed the role of National Security Advisor. Waltz is now facing a Senate hearing regarding his nomination as US Ambassador to the United Nations.
Cybersecurity experts have warned that despite being encrypted, apps like Signal may still be unreliable for handling sensitive government matters.
In fact, in 2023, the Department of Defense officially banned the use of Signal, WhatsApp, and iMessage for transmitting classified or sensitive information.
