British leader reportedly exchanged messages with impostor of top White House official
- British Prime Minister Andy Burnham reportedly exchanged messages with someone posing as White House Chief of Staff Susie Wiles, according to reports published Monday.
- A Burnham spokesperson declined to comment, citing policy on not discussing national security matters.
- Politico said Burnham became suspicious and stopped communicating after initially believing he was messaging Wiles.
- The White House said the episode was not linked to any hacking of Wiles’ devices.
- The case follows earlier U.S. warnings about attempts to impersonate senior officials using AI or other deceptive methods.
Reports published Monday said British Prime Minister Andy Burnham exchanged messages with an impostor who was posing as White House Chief of Staff Susie Wiles. A spokesperson for Burnham declined to discuss the matter, saying the government does not comment on national security issues.
Politico, citing four unnamed officials, reported that Burnham initially believed he was communicating with Wiles before becoming suspicious and ending the exchange. The White House said the incident was not related to any compromise of Wiles’ devices.
The report comes after U.S. authorities investigated earlier cases in which elected officials, business executives and other prominent figures received messages from someone claiming to be Wiles. The State Department and FBI have also warned about attempts to impersonate senior U.S. officials, including through artificial intelligence.
Burnham, who became prime minister less than a month ago, has sought to build a working relationship with the White House. The report noted that President Donald Trump had initially been warmer toward Burnham’s predecessor, Keir Starmer, before the relationship worsened.
英国领导人据报曾与冒充白宫高官的人互发信息
周一发布的报道说，英国首相安迪·伯纳姆曾与一名冒充白宫幕僚长苏西·怀尔斯的人互发信息。伯纳姆发言人拒绝就此置评，称政府不评论国家安全问题。
Politico援引四名未具名官员称，伯纳姆起初以为自己是在与怀尔斯联系，后来起疑并终止了对话。白宫表示，这起事件与怀尔斯的设备被入侵无关。
这则报道出现在美国方面此前调查类似事件之后，当时一些民选官员、企业高管和其他知名人士曾收到自称是怀尔斯的信息。美国国务院和联邦调查局也曾就冒充高级官员的尝试发出警告，其中包括使用人工智能的手法。
伯纳姆上任首相还不到一个月。报道说，他一直试图与白宫建立良好关系；文中还提到，美国总统特朗普最初对伯纳姆的前任基尔·斯塔默较为友好，之后态度转冷。