Encrypted Platforms AI Voice Impersonations: A New Threat to National Security

AI detection

communication platforms

Encryption Platforms

Identity verification

Signal

How secure are encrypted platforms without identity verification?

A recent investigation by The Washington Post has revealed yet another example of how AI-generated voice technology is being used to target high-level officials and deceive communication channels. As recently reported in the press, a threat actor created a convincing synthetic clone of Senator Marco Rubio’s voice and used it, along with coordinated text messages, to contact multiple senior figures, including a U.S. governor, foreign ministers, and a sitting member of Congress. The communications were reported to have been sent via Signal, a platform trusted for its end-to-end encryption and commonly used in government and diplomatic circles.

Encryption Without Authentication: A Growing Security Gap

Such attacks are becoming more common; they are no longer a novelty. While encrypted messaging apps secure the content of communication, they do not verify the identity of the sender or recipient. Signal, like most encrypted platforms, does not include robust identity authentication mechanisms. It encrypts messages, but it cannot confirm who is behind a phone number, a voice, or a screen name. In an age of generative AI, this gap is increasingly being exploited.

This isn’t the first time that it has been reported in the media that Signal and similar encrypted platforms have played a role in mishandled or compromised sensitive communications. Earlier this year, members of the Trump administration, including Vice President JD Vance and National Security Adviser Mike Waltz, were reported to have used Signal to coordinate sensitive military operations. In one instance, a journalist was inadvertently added to a group chat where real-time updates on U.S. military planning in the Middle East were being shared. Simultaneously, credentials linked to senior officials were found in public data leaks, raising further concerns about the security posture around these tools.

Generative AI + Encrypted Messaging

These incidents demonstrate that encrypted messaging apps, while valuable, are being used in contexts they were never fully designed for, namely, the exchange of classified or high-risk information between government officials. And now, with the rise of AI voice synthesis, they are being exploited in even more sophisticated ways.

Voice Cloning Made Easy

Publicly available audio clips, such as interviews, press conferences, or podcast appearances, are all that an attacker needs to create a convincing voice clone. With as little as 15 to 20 seconds or less of clear audio, advanced AI models can now generate synthetic voices that the human ear cannot distinguish from the original speaker. When used in combination with encrypted platforms, this allows attackers to impersonate trusted individuals and bypass the human judgment that these platforms rely on.

Encryption and Identity: Reframing the Cybersecurity Conversation

At ValidSoft, we’ve long recognized that voice alone is no longer a secure proof of identity. A multiple-layer approach to identity assurance that does not impede user experience is what is vital. That’s why we developed See-Say®, a real-time, cryptographically-based, voice identity verification system. This renders pre-recorded or AI-cloned voices useless to attackers, and similarly, any credential that falls into an attacker’s possession is futile, as it is time-sensitive and must be spoken by the legitimate user.

In addition, our AI deepfake detection solution, Voice Verity®, which protects See-Say®, offers real-time, language-agnostic detection of synthetic audio. By analyzing the biometric and acoustic characteristics of a speaker’s voice, not just the words being spoken, Voice Verity® can identify when a voice has been artificially generated, even if it sounds convincing to the human ear. This makes it ideally suited for high-trust environments like secure messaging apps, military communication systems, and executive-level business communications.

These solutions address the exact failure point exploited in the Rubio impersonation incident: the assumption that encryption equals security, and weak authentication equals identity. Neither is true unless supported by rigorous verification technologies. See-Say® was built precisely to achieve these objectives.

The Importance of Identity Assurance

As AI-driven impersonation continues to evolve, communication platforms and the institutions that rely on them must adapt. Protecting the privacy of a message is no longer enough; we must also ensure the authenticity of the people communicating. Failing to address this threat puts government officials, business leaders, and public safety at risk.

The future of secure communication will depend not just on encryption, but on identity assurance at the biometric level. ValidSoft’s solutions are built for exactly this purpose, and the need for them has never been clearer.