White House Investigates AI-Powered Impersonation of Trump's Chief of Staff

White House investigating how Trump's chief of staff's phone was hacked | TechCrunch

The White House is investigating after one or more people reportedly accessed the contacts from the personal phone of White House chief of staff Susie Wiles, and used the information to contact other top officials and impersonate her. Wiles reportedly told people that her phone was hacked. The Wall Street Journal first reported the hack of Wiles' phone. CBS News also confirmed the reporting. The hacker or hackers are said to have accessed Wiles' phone contacts, including the phone numbers of other top U.S. officials and influential individuals. The WSJ reports that those who received phone calls impersonating Wiles used AI to impersonate her voice and sent text messages from a number not associated with Wiles. White House spokesperson Anna Kelly would not say, when asked by TechCrunch, if authorities had determined if a cloud account associated with Wiles' personal device was compromised, or if Wiles' phone was targeted by a more advanced cyberattack, such as one that involves the use of government-grade spyware. In response, the White House said it "takes the cybersecurity of all staff very seriously, and this matter continues to be investigated." This is the second time Wiles has been targeted by hackers. In 2024, The Washington Post reported that Iranian hackers had attempted to compromise Wiles' personal email account. The Journal said Friday, citing sources, the hackers were in fact successful in breaking into her email and obtained a dossier on Vice President JD Vance, then Trump's running mate. This is the latest cybersecurity incident to beset the Trump administration in the months since taking office. In March, former White House top national security adviser Michael Waltz mistakenly added a journalist to a Signal group of top White House officials, including Vance and Wiles, which included discussions of a planned military air-strike in Yemen. Reports later revealed that the government officials were using a Signal clone app called TeleMessage, which was designed to keep a copy of messages for government archiving. TeleMessage was subsequently hacked on at least two occasions, revealing the contents of its users' private messages.

US government is investigating messages impersonating Trump's chief of staff, Susie Wiles

WASHINGTON (AP) -- The government is investigating after elected officials, business executives and other prominent figures in recent weeks received messages from someone impersonating Susie Wiles, President Donald Trump's chief of staff. A White House official said Friday the matter is under investigation and the White House takes cybersecurity of its staff seriously. ,The official was not authorized to discuss the matter publicly and spoke on condition of anonymity. The FBI did not immediately respond to a message seeking comment. The Wall Street Journal reported Thursday that senators, governors, business leaders and others began receiving text messages and phone calls from someone who seemed to have gained access to the contacts in Wiles' personal cellphone. The messages and calls were not coming from Wiles number, the newspaper reported. It is unclear how the person gained access to Wiles' phone, but the intrusion is the latest security breach for Trump staffers. Last year, Iran hacked into Trump's campaign and sensitive internal documents were stolen and distributed, including a dossier on Vice President JD Vance, created before he was selected as Trump's running mate. Wiles, who served as a co-manager of Trump's campaign before taking on the lynchpin role in his new administration, has amassed a powerful network of contacts. Some of those who received calls heard a voice that sounded like Wiles that may have been generated by artificial intelligence, according to the report. Some received text messages that they initially thought were official White House requests but some people reported the messages did not sound like Wiles. ___ Associated Press writer Eric Tucker contributed to this report.

FBI investigating efforts to impersonate White House chief of staff Susie Wiles

Wiles' contacts on her personal cellphone were purportedly hacked and AI used to communicate with lawmakers The FBI is investigating an apparent impersonator who pretended to be the White House chief of staff, Susie Wiles, in texts and calls to her contacts, including prominent Republicans. Wiles has privately informed colleagues that the contacts in her personal cellphone were hacked, according to a report from the Wall Street Journal, and has been asking people to disregard messages and calls that aren't coming from her phone number. Wiles also has a government phone that wasn't affected by the hack. The impersonator texted one lawmaker for a list of people who should be pardoned, a request that was initially taken to be real. In another case, Wiles' impersonator asked for a cash transfer, according to the report. Some requests came off as suspicious as they contained questions about Donald Trump that Wiles would know, and had broken grammar in other cases. But some said that they had engaged with Wiles' impersonator before they realized it wasn't her. Contacts who spoke to the Journal anonymously said that some of the calls came from a voice that sounded like Wiles, leading some to believe that an impersonator is using artificial intelligence to mimic Wiles' voice. Wiles served as co-chair of Trump's presidential campaign and was deeply embedded in Florida politics as a lobbyist before she joined Trump's team. In a statement, the FBI director, Kash Patel, said the FBI is investigating the matter "with the utmost seriousness". "Safeguarding our administration officials' ability to securely communicate to accomplish the president's mission is a top priority," he said. The White House has still been grappling with the fallout of the so-called "Signalgate" scandal, when senior Trump officials discussed sensitive military plans on a Signal group chat in March that included Atlantic journalist Jeffrey Goldberg. Earlier this month, Trump demoted his national security adviser, Mike Waltz, who mistakenly added Goldberg to the group chat. A government oversight group has since sued the Trump administration over the potential deletion of sensitive conversations, which could violate federal recordkeeping laws.

US government is investigating messages impersonating Trump's chief of staff, Susie Wiles

WASHINGTON (AP) -- The government is investigating after elected officials, business executives and other prominent figures in recent weeks received messages from someone impersonating Susie Wiles, President Donald Trump's chief of staff. A White House official said Friday the matter is under investigation and the White House takes cybersecurity of its staff seriously. ,The official was not authorized to discuss the matter publicly and spoke on condition of anonymity. The FBI did not immediately respond to a message seeking comment. The Wall Street Journal reported Thursday that senators, governors, business leaders and others began receiving text messages and phone calls from someone who seemed to have gained access to the contacts in Wiles' personal cellphone. The messages and calls were not coming from Wiles number, the newspaper reported. It is unclear how the person gained access to Wiles' phone, but the intrusion is the latest security breach for Trump staffers. Last year, Iran hacked into Trump's campaign and sensitive internal documents were stolen and distributed, including a dossier on Vice President JD Vance, created before he was selected as Trump's running mate. Wiles, who served as a co-manager of Trump's campaign before taking on the lynchpin role in his new administration, has amassed a powerful network of contacts. Some of those who received calls heard a voice that sounded like Wiles that may have been generated by artificial intelligence, according to the report. Some received text messages that they initially thought were official White House requests but some people reported the messages did not sound like Wiles. ___ Associated Press writer Eric Tucker contributed to this report.

US Government Is Investigating Messages Impersonating Trump's Chief of Staff, Susie Wiles

WASHINGTON (AP) -- The government is investigating after elected officials, business executives and other prominent figures in recent weeks received messages from someone impersonating Susie Wiles, President Donald Trump's chief of staff. A White House official said Friday the matter is under investigation and the White House takes cybersecurity of its staff seriously. ,The official was not authorized to discuss the matter publicly and spoke on condition of anonymity. The FBI did not immediately respond to a message seeking comment. The Wall Street Journal reported Thursday that senators, governors, business leaders and others began receiving text messages and phone calls from someone who seemed to have gained access to the contacts in Wiles' personal cellphone. The messages and calls were not coming from Wiles number, the newspaper reported. It is unclear how the person gained access to Wiles' phone, but the intrusion is the latest security breach for Trump staffers. Last year, Iran hacked into Trump's campaign and sensitive internal documents were stolen and distributed, including a dossier on Vice President JD Vance, created before he was selected as Trump's running mate. Wiles, who served as a co-manager of Trump's campaign before taking on the lynchpin role in his new administration, has amassed a powerful network of contacts. Some of those who received calls heard a voice that sounded like Wiles that may have been generated by artificial intelligence, according to the report. Some received text messages that they initially thought were official White House requests but some people reported the messages did not sound like Wiles. ___ Associated Press writer Eric Tucker contributed to this report. Copyright 2025 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

US looking into attempt to impersonate Trump chief of staff Susie Wiles: Report

The White House and the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) are looking into a reported attempt at impersonating White House chief of staff Susie Wiles, according to a Wall Street Journal report. People familiar with the message told the outlet that an unknown individual sent text messages and made phone calls to multiple notable Republicans and business executives while pretending to be President Trump's chief of staff in recent weeks. "The White House takes the cybersecurity of all staff very seriously, and this matter continues to be investigated," a White House official said. Sources told the Journal that the FBI and the White House are investigating who is behind the calls and their goal. U.S. intelligence agencies have looked into the situation, the outlet noted. "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 to the Journal. "Safeguarding our administration officials' ability to securely communicate to accomplish the president's mission is a top priority." The Hill has reached out to the White House for comment. Wiles reportedly told associates that her phone was hacked, with people noting that the phone in question is her personal phone, though the calls and text messages reportedly didn't come from Wiles's phone number. It could not be determined how the impersonator got access to Wiles's contacts. The voice on the other end of the phone calls reportedly sounded like Wiles, according to those who heard them. Government officials say it's possible that the individual used artificial intelligence (AI) to imitate her voice, according to the Journals' report. There were a few moments during the exchanges that raised red flags for some of the lawmakers, most notably that the impersonator asked questions about Trump that Wiles wouldn't not have asked, as she would have already known the relevant information. In one reported example, the individual on the other end of the line asked for a cash transfer. In many cases, the Journal noted the impersonator used incorrect grammar and the messages were different than how Wiles usually communicates. Wiles reportedly warned her contacts about the impersonator, though some had already engaged with the individual before realizing it wasn't Trump's chief of staff, the Journal reported. It's reportedly not the first time Wiles was suspected of being hacked. The Journal noted that during last year's presidential campaign, Iranian operatives hacked into Wiles's email account and were able to access information on Trump's then-running mate, Vice President Vance.

U.S President Donald Trump's Chief Of Staff's Personal Phone Was Hacked, With The Retrieved Information Used To Contact Influential Individuals And Officials

The personal phone of Susie Wiles, the U.S. President Donald Trump's chief of staff, was allegedly hacked, with the individual responsible obtaining access to a bevy of contacts, including high-profile officials. According to the latest report, a federal probe has been launched, but there is no confirmation on how the phone was compromised in the first place. Shortly after gaining access to the White House chief of staff's personal phone, the hackers leveraged AI to impersonate Wiles' likeness and sent multiple contacts voice and text messages from a different number. It was only after the person or persons on the other end recommended continuing the conversation to a private platform like Telegram that the contacts realized that something was off. FBI Director Kash Patel shared the following statement with CBS News regarding the incident. "The FBI takes all threats against the President, his staff, and our cybersecurity with the utmost seriousness; safeguarding our administration officials' ability to securely communicate to accomplish the President's mission is a top priority." As for how Wiles' phone was compromised, TechCrunch asked White House spokesperson Anna Kelly if a cloud account associated with the chief of staff's device was compromised, or if her handset was a part of a more sophisticated attack involving government-grade spyware. Unfortunately, the outlet did not receive a meaningful response, suggesting that the investigation is still ongoing. This is the second incident in which Wiles has been targeted by hackers, with the first instance transpiring in 2024, when it was reported that Iranian cyber-espionage experts attempted to obtain access to her personal email account. A separate report claims that these individuals were successful in bypassing the security as they obtained a dossier on Vice President JD Vance, who was Donald Trump's running mate at the time. Going over a few images, we realized that the U.S. President's chief of staff is currently in possession of an iPhone, which should cause even more concern because Apple prides itself on its robust security and privacy.

FBI probes strange texts asking for cash, pardon advice from person...

The FBI is investigating an effort by an unknown individual to impersonate White House chief of staff Susie Wiles, according to a report. The imposter has reportedly fired off text messages and placed phone calls to Republican lawmakers, governors and business executives in recent weeks pretending to be Wiles, the Wall Street Journal reported on Thursday. It's unclear who is behind the campaign, and what their goal is, but the faker appears to be using artificial intelligence to mimic Wiles's voice -- and in one case asked for cash transfer, according to the outlet. One text from the person claiming to be Wiles asked a lawmaker to put together a list of people who could be pardoned by President Trump. The messages were suspicious to some because they didn't come from Wiles's phone number, asked questions about Trump that the chief of staff would've known, were more formal than usual and contained broken grammar. FBI officials have informed the White House they don't suspect a foreign nation is behind the con. "The White House takes the cybersecurity of all staff very seriously, and this matter continues to be investigated," a White House spokeswoman told the Wall Street Journal. Earlier this month, the FBI warned of "an ongoing malicious text and voice messaging campaign" that has been occurring since April, where actors have "impersonated senior US officials to target individuals, many of whom are current or former senior US federal or state government officials and their contacts. "The malicious actors have sent text messages and AI-generated voice messages -- techniques known as smishing and vishing, respectively -- that claim to come from a senior US official in an effort to establish rapport before gaining access to personal accounts," read the warning released by the bureau on May 15. It's unclear if the warning was issued in response to the Wiles hack. FBI Director Kash Patel told the Journal that the bureau "takes all threats against the president, his staff, and our cybersecurity with the utmost seriousness." "Safeguarding our administration officials' ability to securely communicate to accomplish the president's mission is a top priority," he added. Wiles has reportedly told associates that the contacts on her personal cellphone are the ones that have been hacked, and she has urged them to disregard the strange messages -- which have been sent as recently as when Trump and Wiles were in the Middle East two weeks ago. Wiles' email account was reportedly hacked by Iranian operatives targeting the Trump campaign during last year's presidential campaign. Three members of Iran's notorious Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) were indicted over the hacking last September. The White House and FBI did not immediately respond to The Post's request for comment.