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Hackers target US FEC system, disrupting campaign finance disclosures days before midterms
Reuters • • nation
Key Points:
- The US Federal Election Commission (FEC) website was targeted by hackers, causing its electronic filing system to go offline a week before the November 3 elections, disrupting the submission of critical campaign finance reports.
- The outage prevents organizations from filing 24-hour and 48-hour spending reports, which disclose political spending in key races, reducing transparency during a crucial period of record-breaking election spending.
- The FEC confirmed the system is offline while IT staff work to restore service, but emphasized the outage does not affect voters' ability to cast ballots or the administration of elections.
- This cyberattack occurs amid unprecedented spending by super PACs and dark money groups, with over $11 billion spent on advertising so far and daily expenditures exceeding $50 million in the final week.
- Experts warn that the disruption hampers public visibility into who is funding political campaigns during a pivotal moment, limiting accountability and oversight in the lead-up to the midterm elections.
