Cyberattack concealed political spending by big donors before US midterm elections

On October 28, the Federal Election Commission (FEC) resumed its electronic filing system following a cyberattack that lasted nearly 41 hours, concealing political spending by major donors as midterms approached. Campaign watchdogs raised concerns as the outage extended into its third day, preventing Super PACs and other groups from filing mandatory 24- and 48-hour reports detailing their recent political spending.

Campaign finance expert Molly White lamented the lack of visibility into the final-minute spending, which intensifies as elections near, stating, "We didn't have access to the last-minute spending, which is really ramped up as the election draws nearer."

The outage coincided with an unusually high spending rate, with Super PACs and dark money groups averaging over $50 million per day the week before the incident. Over $250 million in political contributions were reported on October 20 alone, according to OpenSecrets research director Brendan Glavin. The Federal Election Commission (FEC) informed users that most affected services had been restored, posting a notice around 10 p.m. ET on Monday about an investigation into the issue affecting major filing systems.

The motive for the hacking remains unknown, as it is common for hackers to target government networks for espionage, financial gain, or political reasons. The FEC's role in administering US elections is separate from its responsibilities in overseeing campaign finance. The Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency and the FBI both referred inquiries to the FEC.

A statement from FEC executive director Hilary Braseth emphasized the importance of transparency, declaring, "Disclosure delayed is disclosure denied." The agency did not reveal the cause of the outage or respond to requests for further comment.