The FBI has launched an investigation into an orchestrated plot to digitally impersonate White House chief of staff Susie Wiles.
Authorities were flagged in recent weeks after senators, governors, and even top U.S. business executives began receiving text messages and phone calls from someone claiming to be the chief of staff, according to the Wall Street Journal (WSJ), which initially reported the story. None of the messages came from Wiles. FBI officials do not believe a foreign nation orchestrated the impersonation.
“The White House takes the cybersecurity of all staff very seriously, and this matter continues to be investigated,” a White House spokeswoman said.
“The FBI takes all threats against the president, his staff, and our cybersecurity with the utmost seriousness,” FBI Director Kash Patel said in a statement. “Safeguarding our administration officials’ ability to securely communicate to accomplish the president’s mission is a top priority.”
Wiles, who managed Trump’s presidential campaign prior to becoming chief of staff, has reportedly told people in her inner circle that her personal cellphone contacts were hacked, which gave the impersonator access to so many high-profile people in government and business.
“Some of the calls featured a voice that sounded like Wiles, people who heard them said. Government officials think the impersonator used artificial intelligence to imitate Wiles’s voice, some of the people said,” per the WSJ.
“In some of the text messages, people received requests that they initially believed to be official. One lawmaker, for example, was asked by the impersonator to assemble a list of individuals who could be pardoned by the president,” it added.
Lawmakers began to question the authenticity of the messages when the impersonator began asking questions about Trump to which the real Wiles would have known the answers. Other lawmakers said the messages had poor grammar and one lawmaker even said the impersonator asked for a cash transfer.
“Wiles has urged some of her contacts to disregard the messages, and she has apologized for the inconvenience. But some of the people who were contacted engaged with the impersonator before realizing it wasn’t Wiles,” noted the WSJ. “Many others have reached out to Wiles, asking if she is behind the messages before responding, some of the people said.”
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