Federal Election Commission · Breach

FEC keeps web services offline after attempted breach, Reuters says

Oct 27, 2026 · 2 min read

A hacker is attempting to breach the US Federal Election Commission's systems, according to an email seen by Reuters, and the agency has temporarily shut down its web-facing services in response. The electronic filing system has been offline since around 10 p.m. ET on October 26, one week before the November 3 elections, blocking mandatory 24-hour and 48-hour spending reports. There is no confirmation of access, data theft, or altered filings, and voting should not be affected.

By HIFY Radar newsroom Updated 10/28/2026 01:42 AM Get this every day →← Back to the feed 14 sources

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In this article

What happened
Why it matters
What to do
For the technical team
Timeline
Sources

What happened

A hacker is attempting to breach the US Federal Election Commission's (FEC) systems, according to an internal email seen by Reuters. In response, the agency has temporarily shut down its web-facing services, and the electronic filing system has been offline since around 10 p.m. ET on October 26.

Why it matters

The outage, one week before the November 3 elections, prevents political committees from filing mandatory 24-hour and 48-hour spending reports and reduces the campaign-finance information available to the public. There is no confirmation of access, data theft, or altered filings, and voting should not be affected.

What to do

Monitor the FEC's restoration work and statements; previously filed reports remain searchable on the agency's website. Committees should track pending spending and file reports as soon as the system is back.

For the technical team

Affected: Federal Election Commission (FEC) Sistemas da Federal Election Commission (FEC), agência eleitoral federal dos EUA; sistema eletrônico de arquivamento (electronic filing system) e demais serviços web temporariamente offline · US Federal Election Commission (FEC) web-facing services, including the electronic filing system.
Exploitation: Attempt reported as ongoing by Reuters, based on an internal email seen by the news agency. No confirmation of access, data theft, or altered filings; identity and motive of those responsible remain unknown.
Fix: No patch applicable; FEC staff are working to restore the service. Previously filed reports remain searchable on the agency's website.
Vector: Attempted breach of FEC systems; vector and method not disclosed in the sources. The agency took down its web-facing services in response, and the electronic filing system has been offline since around 10 p.m. ET on October 26, per Monday night reports.
More details: The FEC tracks campaign spending but does not administer elections; the incident should not affect voter registration, ballot systems, or the public's ability to vote. Primary source: an FEC official's email seen by Reuters. The outage falls one week before the November 3 midterm elections.

Timeline

10/28/2026 01:42 AM
Post on X details that the filing system went dark a week before the midterms and claims a review of the FEC's own code shows something worse than a system glitch.
10/27/2026 08:36 PM
Reuters saw an email from an FEC official about a hacker trying to breach the US election website.
10/27/2026 07:04 PM
Reuters, citing an internal email, reports hackers were attempting to breach FEC systems and that the filing service has been down since 10 p.m., with no successful breach reported, one week before the midterms.

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See all 8 updates

10/27/2026 06:33 PM
Reuters confirms the attempted breach knocked the electronic filing system offline a week before the November 3 elections, blocking 24-hour and 48-hour disclosures of last-minute money.
10/27/2026 06:03 PM
A Reuters-attributed report says a hacker is still attempting to breach FEC systems, prompting the agency to keep its web-facing services temporarily shut down.
10/27/2026 05:39 PM
New post details that the outage, one week before the November 3 midterms, prevents political committees from filing mandatory 24-hour and 48-hour spending reports, reducing the campaign-finance information available to the public.
10/27/2026 05:32 PM
Reuters reports the attempted breach came one week before the midterm elections and the electronic filing system has been offline since Monday night.
10/27/2026 04:32 PM
Reuters reports an attempted breach of FEC systems and a temporary shutdown of web-facing services.