FEC website targeted by hackers

The U.S. Federal Election Commission (FEC), which oversees the transparency of spending in U.S. midterm elections, has been the victim of a cyberattack, according to Reuters, which obtained access to an email. The website of the FEC was targeted by hackers, according to Reuters, which obtained access to an email.

Cyberattack disrupts filing system

This cyberattack disrupted the agency's electronic filing system, just days before the midterm elections. The agency indicated in a statement that it had taken the electronic filing system offline to allow for the implementation of a fix. It had been offline since the night of Monday to Tuesday, October 27.

FEC services temporarily closed

"A malicious actor attempted to hack the FEC's systems," said a representative of the agency's electronic filing. "As a result, we had to temporarily close our services." Political groups and partisan organizations and lobbying groups were thus unable to submit their expenditure reports for 24 to 48 hours. However, the search via the web for past filings remained accessible.

FEC role in election transparency

It is important to note that the FEC does not play any role in the administration of American elections themselves. This outage should therefore have no impact on the ability of voters to vote. The role of the FEC is more about transparency, an essential element in a democracy.

Spending in midterm elections

The FEC is responsible, among other things, for tracking the spending of candidates and political committees, and allows voters to know the nature and identity of donors, particularly present during election periods. For the midterm election campaign alone, 11.21 billion dollars have already been spent by the various candidates for communication purposes (advertising and campaign reservations), surpassing the previous record.

Super PACs drive campaign spending

In 2024, the year of the previous record, set for the elections of representatives and the president, it was 11.2 billion, of which 3.2 billion had been used for the U.S. presidential election opposing Donald Trump to Kamala Harris. As has been the case since their creation in 2010, a large part of these 11.21 billion is the result of super PACs, these private organizations in the United States that are allowed to raise and spend unlimited funds to support or attack candidates for an election.

Cyberattack raises concerns

The elections should not directly suffer from the consequences of this cyberattack, however, this matter is potentially "important," says Brendan Glavin, research director at the nonpartisan monitoring center OpenSecrets, interviewed by Reuters. "These are key reports that allow us to know what is happening, because in the last days, it is the only way to keep track of how money is spent. This hacking could thus serve as a justification for Donald Trump to challenge elections that could be very unfavorable to him, according to recent polls.

Trump's stance on election results

On October 27, the American president explained that he would respect the results of the midterm elections "if they are honest." Since the attack on the Capitol in 2021, he has continued to claim that his re-election in 2020 was stolen, accusing Democrats of having rigged the results, without any evidence.