Scoop: Top Secret Service official targeted in "swatting" attack
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A top Secret Service official was the target of a "swatting" incident at his home on the Fourth of July, according to an agency official.
Why it matters: While the incident didn't lead to any harm, it's another example of just how difficult it's become for law enforcement to rein in the wave of hoax calls.
Zoom in: Someone called 9-1-1 on July 4 to falsely report that the senior-level official's daughter was running around the house with a weapon, Michael Centrella, assistant director of the Secret Service's office of field operations, told a small gathering of tech executives Thursday at the Deepfake Resilience Symposium in San Francisco.
- The voice on the phone appeared to be trying to mimic the agent's, but law enforcement is still investigating whether the caller used a precise deepfake of the agent's voice or just a synthesizer to sound like a man around his age, Centrella added.
- However, the bad actor's plan was foiled by a simple fact: The agent doesn't have a daughter, and his local law enforcement knew that.
- The Secret Service asked Axios to keep the name of the official who was targeted anonymous to protect them and their family from copycat attacks.
What they're saying: "We were able to protect [the senior official] and not have a major incident," Centrella said. "But you've seen these cases now across the country, they are very impactful."
The big picture: "Swatting" — where a bad actor calls call 9-1-1 and reports a fake incident, resulting in armed police officers responding to a home address — has been on the rise in D.C. in recent years.
- Prominent targets have included several of President Trump's cabinet nominees, both Republican and Democratic lawmakers, various judges and government agency officials. The Secret Service target does not share the same level of protection as other public officials who have been victims.
- AI tools have made voice cloning easier, and bad actors can easily spoof phone numbers to make themselves harder to detect.
Threat level: Beyond the possibility of a frightening interaction with police, the calls are also troubling because they indicate the caller knows their target's personal address.
- In this case, the targeted agent is a very private person, and it's difficult to find details about his personal life online.
What to watch: Local law enforcement is continuing to investigate the incident, including whether the official's voice was duped.
