Sen. Ben Cardin Reportedly Targeted By Deepfake Video Caller Posing As Ukrainian Official

26 Sep 2024 by Siladitya Ray · Forbes

Topline

Senate Foreign Relations Committee Chairman Ben Cardin, D-Md., was the target of a sophisticated spoofing operation where a video caller used deepfake imagery to pose as a high-level Ukrainian official, according to multiple reports late Wednesday, highlighting the growing threat of AI-generated false images and videos.

Sen. Ben Cardin, D-MD, was the target of a sophisticated deepfake operation.William B. Plowman /NBC via Getty Images

Key Facts

The incident, first reported by Punchbowl News and later confirmed by the New York Times, was cited in a notice sent out by the Senate’s security office about a recent Zoom call a senator had with an individual posing as Dmytro Kuleba—Ukraine’s former Foreign Minister.

Citing two Senate officials, the Times confirmed Cardin was the senator in question, who also told the outlet about a bad actor’s “deceptive attempt to have a conversation with me by posing as a known individual.”

According to the notice, Cardin connected with a caller on Zoom who looked and sounded like Kubela after receiving an email from someone claiming to be the Ukrainian leader who recently stepped down from his role as part of a wider cabinet reshuffle.

Cardin, however, grew suspicious about the authenticity of the caller after being asked “politically charged questions in relation to the upcoming election,” including if he supported the use of long-range missiles to target Russian territory.

In a separate notice reported by NBC News, the Senate security office also warned lawmakers about an “active social engineering campaign…targeting Senators and Senate staff.”

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Crucial Quote

“While we have seen an increase of social engineering threats in the last several months and years, this attempt stands out due to its technical sophistication and believability,” the notice said.

Key Background

In recent weeks, both intelligence officials and tech executives have warned that foreign actors are trying to influence the U.S. elections using artificial intelligence-powered tools. In an assessment published earlier this week, the Office of the Director of National Intelligence said foreign actors, including Russia and Iran, were using “generative AI technology to boost their respective U.S. election influence efforts.” However, the statement added that while AI is “helping to improve and accelerate aspects of foreign influence operations” the intelligence committee has so far not seen it “revolutionize such operations.” Last week, Microsoft Vice President Brad Smith testified before a senate committee about the foreign interference operations targeting the November elections. Smith said the use of AI tools in interference operations this year has been “less impactful than many had feared,” but acknowledged that “determined and advanced actors” will sharpen their use of AI over time.

Tangent

Last week, California Gov. Gavin Newsom signed three new bills, including one that goes into effect immediately and makes it illegal to distribute “materially deceptive audio or visual media of a candidate” 120 days before an election and in some cases, 60 days after. The California legislation came after Newsom vowed to crack down on political deepfakes. That call came after X owner and billionaire Elon Musk shared an altered campaign video of Vice President Kamala Harris that used AI-generated audio clips mimicking her voice and called her the “ultimate diversity hire” and a “deep state puppet.” While the law includes carve-outs for parody—as long as they are clearly labeled as such—Musk attacked the laws as censorship and claimed they “make parody illegal.”