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Hackers Disrupt US FEC Electronic Filing System Ahead of Midterms

Hackers Disrupt US FEC Electronic Filing System Ahead of Midterms

First seen 27 Oct 2026, 21:18 UTC • •
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ThreatCluster AI
ThreatCluster •October 28, 2026 at 00:46 UTC
  • •The FEC's electronic filing system is offline due to a hacking attempt.
  • •Political groups cannot file crucial spending reports ahead of the midterm elections.
  • •The incident is unprecedented, raising concerns about election transparency.

The US Federal Election Commission's electronic filing system was taken offline due to a hacking attempt reported on October 26, 2026, just a week before the November 3 midterm elections. The FEC confirmed the outage, stating that their IT staff is working to restore service. The disruption prevents political groups from filing mandatory 24-hour and 48-hour spending reports, which detail campaign expenditures. Steven Mele, a partner at MBA Consulting Group, noted that this incident is in his 26 years of experience, indicating a significant reduction in election transparency until the issue is resolved. The FEC does not administer elections, so the outage is not expected to affect voter participation directly. The Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) and the FBI have not yet provided comments regarding the incident. The FEC's website remains accessible for past reports, but current filings are halted.

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Timeline

2026-10-26
FEC electronic filing system goes offline
The FEC reported that its electronic filing system was disrupted by hacking attempts, preventing filing of spending reports.
Channelnewsasia

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Common questions

What caused the FEC system outage?
The outage was caused by reported hacking attempts targeting the FEC's electronic filing system.
Will this affect voting in the midterms?
No, the FEC does not administer elections, so the outage should not impact voters' ability to cast ballots.
When is the FEC expected to restore service?
The FEC has not provided a specific timeline for restoring the electronic filing system.