{"meta":{"database":"Global Social Engineering Impact Database","license":"CC BY 4.0 — attribute to Netarx Social Engineering Incident Database","url":"https://global-social-engineering-impact-da.vercel.app/incidents/2024-us-senator-ben-cardin-targeted-by-deepfake-zoom-call-posing-as-ukraine-s"},"incident":{"title":"US Senator Ben Cardin targeted by deepfake Zoom call posing as Ukraine's ex-FM","date":"2024-09","date_precision":"month","victim_org":"Office of US Senator Ben Cardin, Senate Foreign Relations Committee","sector":"Government","country":"United States","primary_vector":"Deepfake Video Call","secondary_vectors":["Spear Phishing (Email)"],"ai_involvement":"Suspected AI-enabled","ai_notes":"Senate security officials described the video call participant as an apparent deepfake of former Ukrainian foreign minister Dmytro Kuleba that matched his appearance and voice from prior encounters.","outcomes":["Attempt Blocked","Espionage"],"loss_usd":null,"loss_note":"","records_affected":null,"threat_actor":null,"summary":"In September 2024 the office of Senator Ben Cardin, then chair of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, received an email purporting to be from former Ukrainian foreign minister Dmytro Kuleba requesting a call. On the resulting Zoom call the person looked and sounded like Kuleba but began aggressively pressing Cardin for positions on politically charged issues, including long-range missile strikes into Russian territory and comments touching on US presidential candidates. Cardin's staff ended the call and the State Department confirmed it was not Kuleba. The Senate security office warned other offices about the attempt's sophistication.","how_it_worked":"The pretext exploited a routine of the job: a foreign official Cardin had genuinely met requesting a follow-up video call on a live policy question. Because the identity was plausible and the scheduling followed normal staff channels, the meeting went ahead without independent verification through the State Department. On camera the deepfake supplied the visual and vocal confirmation staff expected. The impersonator then pushed for on-the-record statements that could be clipped and weaponised, applying pressure by demanding immediate answers. The tell was behavioural rather than technical: the real Kuleba would not badger a committee chair for soundbites, and the mismatch in conduct ended the call.","lessons":"Legislative offices should route requests for meetings with foreign officials through the State Department or the relevant embassy for confirmation before a call is scheduled.","confidence":"Reported","sources":[{"title":"Ben Cardin targeted in apparent deepfake call with someone posing as Dmytro Kuleba","url":"https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/congress/ben-cardin-targeted-apparent-deep-fake-call-dmytro-kuleba-rcna172776","publisher":"NBC News"},{"title":"Elaborate Deepfake Operation Takes a Meeting With US Senator","url":"https://www.darkreading.com/cyberattacks-data-breaches/elaborate-deepfake-operation-meeting-us-senator","publisher":"Dark Reading"}],"entry_type":"incident","slug":"2024-us-senator-ben-cardin-targeted-by-deepfake-zoom-call-posing-as-ukraine-s","year":2024,"loss_kind":null,"url":"https://global-social-engineering-impact-da.vercel.app/incidents/2024-us-senator-ben-cardin-targeted-by-deepfake-zoom-call-posing-as-ukraine-s"}}