Federal authorities are probing a scheme to impersonate White House chief of staff Susie Wiles, according to individuals familiar with the issue, the Wall Street Journal reported.
“The White House takes the cybersecurity of all staff very seriously, and this matter continues to be investigated,” a White House official noted.
“The FBI takes all threats against the president, his staff, and our cybersecurity with the utmost seriousness,” FBI Director Kash Patel delcaerd in a statement, according to the Journal. “Safeguarding our administration officials’ ability to securely communicate to accomplish the president’s mission is a top priority.”
The chief of staff informed associates that her phone contacts had been hacked, according to some of the people, the Journal reported. The phone is her personal device, not a government phone, the individuals noted, according to the outlet.
Some calls involved a voice which sounded like the chief of staff, individuals who heard them noted, according to the report. Government officials believe the impostor utilized artificial intelligence to mimic her voice, some of the individuals noted.
In some cases involving texts, individuals got requests which they at first thought were official, according to the outlet, which noted that one legislator received a request to develop a list of people who could be pardoned by Trump.
But it became evident to some legislators that the asks were suspect when the impostor started posing questions about the president, for which Wiles should have been privy to the answers — and in one instance, when the impostor requested a cash transfer, some of the people noted, according to the outlet.
In many instances, the impostor used broken grammar and the messages were too formal compared to how Wiles normally communicates, individuals who received the messages noted, according to the outlet. The calls and texts did not emanate from Wiles’s phone number, according to the report.
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