Senate Foreign Relations Committee Chairman Ben Cardin was recently targeted by a highly sophisticated deepfake operation, where an impersonator posed as former Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba during a Zoom call. The incident, first reported by Punchbowl News, was highlighted in a security notice circulated to Senate offices warning about rising social engineering threats aimed at U.S. lawmakers.
Cardin’s office received an email on September 19, allegedly from Kuleba, requesting a meeting. Given their prior interactions with the real Kuleba, Cardin and his staff believed the call to be genuine. When they connected on Zoom, the impersonator appeared to accurately replicate both the look and sound of Kuleba. However, during the conversation, the caller began asking politically sensitive and out-of-character questions, such as whether Cardin supported long-range missile strikes into Russian territory.
As the questioning grew more pointed, it became clear to Cardin and his team that something was off. The senator quickly ended the call, and his office contacted the State Department, which confirmed that the person on the Zoom call was not Kuleba. Cardin referred to the caller as a “malign actor” and alerted authorities immediately.
The Senate’s security office issued a separate warning, informing Senate staff of an “active social engineering campaign” targeting lawmakers and their staff. The technique involves threat actors posing as foreign dignitaries in an attempt to discredit U.S. officials or extract sensitive information. These impersonations are often backed by sophisticated technology, such as deepfakes, making them difficult to detect in real-time.
While it remains unclear who was behind this particular attack, Russia is suspected, given the politically charged questions surrounding military actions in Ukraine. Cardin’s office declined to comment further, citing the ongoing investigation, which is being handled by the FBI.
This is not the first time U.S. lawmakers have been targeted in such operations—previous phishing and social engineering attempts aimed at Senate offices have been traced to foreign actors, particularly from Russia, who seek to manipulate or disrupt U.S. political processes.
This incident comes as Cardin plays a pivotal role in shaping U.S. policy toward Syria. He has held up the Anti-Normalization Act, designed to prevent U.S. recognition of the Assad regime, over concerns about its broad scope. Recently, Cardin introduced a more limited version of the bill.
As these threats become more technically advanced, Senate security officials are urging offices to be cautious when responding to unsolicited requests for video calls or meetings, especially from individuals claiming to represent foreign governments.
