\n \u201cIt\u2019s now easy and quick to clone someone\u2019s voice using AI tools, which now require less than 15 seconds of someone\u2019s voice to create a believable voice clone,\u201d said Rachel Tobac, chief executive of SocialProof Security, a firm that trains people to defend against such attacks.\n <\/p>\n
\n \u201cJust six months ago, I needed a clear one-to-two-minute sample of someone\u2019s voice without background noise or music to create a believable voice clone \u2014 not so anymore.\u201d\n <\/p>\n
\n \u201cVoice-cloning is the new normal (in terms of) impersonation social-engineering attempts,\u201d she said.\n <\/p>\n
\n Rubio told CNN on Thursday that he expects more AI-based efforts to impersonate him.\n <\/p>\n
\n \u201cIt won\u2019t be the last time you see me or others, for that matter. Maybe some of you will be impersonated,\u201d Rubio said on a trip to Malaysia.\n <\/p>\n
\n \u201cWithin days of becoming Secretary of State, I had foreign ministers calling the State Department asking if I had just texted them,\u201d said Rubio, who is also the national security adviser. \u201cThis is just the reality of the 21st Century, AI and fake stuff that\u2019s going on.\u201d\n <\/p>\n
\n In Rubio\u2019s case, an imposter called at least five people, including three foreign ministers, a governor and a senator. The unknown attacker set up an account on the Signal messaging platform in mid-June using the display name \u201cmarco.rubio@state.gov,\u201d according to a State Department cable last week on the incident viewed by CNN.\n <\/p>\n
\n \u201cThe 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,\u201d the cable said.\n <\/p>\n
\n An AI-based robocall last year that mimicked<\/a> the voice of then-President Joe Biden and tried to dissuade voters from voting in a primary was a wake-up call for senior US officials over the risks that AI could pose to the electoral process.\n <\/p>\n \n For public figures whose voices are everywhere online, the cloning process is even simpler, said Steve Grobman, chief technology officer at cybersecurity firm McAfee.\n <\/p>\n \n \u201cWhat\u2019s most concerning is that with AI-powered clones, seeing \u2013 or hearing \u2013 is no longer believing, and even trained professionals can be fooled, especially when a familiar voice makes an urgent request,\u201d Grobman told CNN. \u201cIt\u2019s also why we need smarter tools to help people tell what\u2019s real and what\u2019s not. We can\u2019t rely on our own instincts anymore.\u201d\n <\/p>\n \n However, Rubio and others who heard audio of the call imitating him said it didn\u2019t quite sound like him, meaning whoever was behind it didn\u2019t go to great lengths to match his voice.\n <\/p>\n \n The audacity of the ruse is what has some US officials alarmed. A month before the fake Rubio calls began, the FBI warned<\/a> in May that unidentified \u201cmalicious actors\u201d were impersonating senior US officials to target their contacts in government. The aim was to build a rapport with the target to then access their online accounts. The ultimate goal of the scheme \u2014 whether to steal information or money \u2014 was unclear.\n <\/p>\n
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