FEC Filing System Outage; Hacker Reportedly Trying to Breach It
A hacker or hackers tried to breach the Federal Election Commission, an internal email shows. The agency's electronic filing system is offline.
- 10 p.m. ET Monday: when the FEC says filings went down.
- The email says all web-facing services were temporarily shut down.
- Users can still search past reports, the FEC said.
- The FEC declined further comment on the outage.
Why it matters: The outage stops groups from filing 24-hour and 48-hour spending reports. Those show who is spending on specific races in the final days.
- Compliance consultant Steven Mele said he had never seen this in 26 years.
- The FEC does not administer elections; voting should be unaffected.
How 15 sources split on this story
Where they split: Coverage differs on context: whether the hack belongs with the broader voter-fraud debate or is a campaign-finance disclosure story.
Center coverage, 6 sources: The center places the hack alongside election-integrity fights, including Trump's $1 million voter-fraud reward and federal charges in California.
Right coverage, 5 sources: The right frames it as a cybersecurity and disclosure problem, stressing that voting itself is unaffected.
What’s next: FEC IT staff are working to restore the filing system.
- The FBI and CISA did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
- Who is behind the hacking attempt, and did any breach succeed?
- Will the filing system return before the Nov. 3 vote?
- Will any delayed spending reports be filed before Election Day?
