Hacking attempts disrupt US Federal Election Commission’s system ahead of midterms, affecting electronic filings but not voter access
The FEC, which oversees candidate and political committee spending, noted that users can still access past reports on the website.
The agency reported that the outage does not affect voters’ ability to cast ballots during the midterm elections.
Hacking attempts
The outage blocks organizations from filing 24-hour and 48-hour spending reports essential for election transparency.
Steven Mele from MBA Consulting Group highlighted that this incident is unprecedented in his 26 years of experience.
He expressed concerns that the disruption would lead to reduced disclosure regarding election funding until resolved.
The FEC’s filing system went offline around 10 p.m. ET on Monday, with no immediate comments from the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency or the FBI.
For now, the effect of this hacking attempt is contained within the FEC’s operational framework and does not extend to voter participation.
