Russian pranksters impersonated Umerov and called “OpenAI” officials. They told about military cooperation with Ukraine

Russian pranksters Vovan and Lexus impersonated the head of the Foreign Intelligence Service of Ukraine Rustem Umerov and conducted a 17-minute video call with three senior officials from “OpenAI”.

During the call, they talked about cooperation with Ukraine and the possibility of using artificial intelligence in military operations against Russia.

This is reported by The Intercept. The pranksters also published a recording of the conversation on the Internet.

One of the pranksters — Vladimir Kuznetsov (Vovan) — said that he and a colleague first contacted a senior Ukrainian official in San Francisco, introducing themselves as Umerov. He believed them and helped arrange a meeting with “OpenAI” representatives.

3 company employees joined the video call: the head of national security policy Sasha Baker, the head of strategic initiatives Caroline Zier, and head of European security Ben Crampton.

During the conversation, the fake Umerov did not turn on the camera. At the same time, Baker and Zier said that they had already met with the real Umerov before and expressed joy at the new conversation.

“OpenAI” representatives discussed with the pranksters the possibility of expanding cooperation with Ukraine, in particular the use of artificial intelligence in offensive military operations.

Crampton acknowledged that some of the companyʼs management does not want its technology to be used for offensive military purposes. At the same time, he said that “OpenAI” seeks to cooperate as closely as possible with Ukraine, although achieving this may be difficult immediately.

During the conversation, “OpenAI” representatives mentioned contacts with the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine and cooperation on the “Daybreak Blue” system, which helps detect and eliminate vulnerabilities in computer systems. Baker also said that the company had discussed assistance to Ukraine with the Pentagon.

“OpenAI” confirmed that the meeting took place. Company spokesman Nate Evans said that several weeks ago, “OpenAI” began verifying the authenticity of the conversation and, together with the relevant authorities, determined that it was a hoax. The company has since taken measures to prevent similar incidents in the future. He did not specify what measures.

• Vovan and Lexus are Russian pranksters Vladimir Kuznetsov and Alexei Stolyarov, who have been calling prominent politicians and other public figures since 2011, impersonating high-ranking officials. They have been repeatedly accused of having ties to the Russian government and special services, but they themselves deny this.
• “OpenAI” has also previously reported on the use of its technology in Russian information operations. In May 2024, the company exposed Russian influence campaigns whose participants used AI to create anti-Ukrainian posts and comments for social media.

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