FEC Electronic Filing System Knocked Offline Ahead of Midterm Elections

A hacker or group of hackers targeted the U.S. Federal Election Commission’s (FEC) website, forcing the agency’s electronic filing system offline. The outage began about 10 p.m. ET on a Monday and persisted into the following day, leaving the system unavailable a week before the November 3 midterm elections. The disruption halted the submission of the FEC’s 24-hour and 48-hour spending reports, which detail how much candidates and political committees are spending on specific races. Users could still search the site for previously filed reports.

US Federal Election Commission filing system knocked offline by hackers a week before elections – Cyprus Inform The Jerusalem Post

The FEC issued a brief statement confirming that the electronic filing system was “currently offline” and that its IT staff were “actively working to restore service.” The agency added that it declined further comment on the outage. A status message posted by the commission indicated the system had been down since about 10 p.m. ET on Monday. The Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) and the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

US Federal Election Commission filing system knocked offline by hackers a week before elections – Cyprus Inform

Because the outage prevents organizations from filing the 24-hour and 48-hour spending reports, analysts warn that election-related financial disclosure will be reduced until the system is restored. Steven Mele, a partner at political-finance compliance firm MBA Consulting Group, noted that the incident is unprecedented in his 26-year career, suggesting a temporary dip in transparency. The FEC does not administer elections, and officials say the outage should not affect voters’ ability to cast ballots.

The Jerusalem Post

• “I've never seen this in 26 years,” — Steven Mele — Steven Mele, partner, MBA Consulting Group

The Jerusalem Post