Hackers Attempted To Access National Campaign Finance Systems 1 Week Before Midterms

Hackers attempted to access some filing systems at the Federal Election Commission, prompting the independent campaign finance regulatory agency to shut them down on Tuesday to contain the attack, a person familiar with the situation told POLITICO.

According to this person, granted anonymity to discuss details of an ongoing internal investigation, FEC cybersecurity staff “noticed attempted intrusions and were able to shut down” the parts of its electronic filing system that were being attacked, leading to what they described as a temporary outage.

“It’s quite narrow and compartmentalized,” the person said of the attempted hack. “The team noticed it early, and it will hopefully be resolved shortly.”

Reuters first reported Tuesday that hackers targeted the FEC, citing an email the FEC sent about the incident. Some of the agency's systems remain down as of Tuesday evening.

The person noted that while “no one really knows” who is behind the attack, it may have been carried out using advanced artificial intelligence models with hacking capabilities.

Myles Martin, deputy press secretary at the FEC, confirmed to POLITICO on Tuesday evening that its IT staff are “actively working to restore service.” He added that the website search for FEC reports “is not affected.”

An automated email about the outage, obtained by POLITICO, was sent to anyone who attempted to log any information on political campaigns, such as financial contributions. The email noted that the FEC will not fine any campaigns for not filing data “so long as they file within 24 hours after the electronic filing system is back online.”

The incident comes just one week before the midterm elections, though it should not affect the security of the actual vote, as the FEC is not involved in counting ballots or administering the elections. Instead, the agency serves as the nation’s campaign finance watchdog for federal elections, where campaigns and PACs report information on donors and campaign spending.

The agency has been largely without power since last year, when multiple commissioners departed and President Donald Trump moved to fire now-former FEC Chair Ellen Weintraub, a Democrat, leaving the agency without a quorum.

Andrew Howard contributed to this report.