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StoryData breachhigh

FEC filing system stays offline after reported hacking attempts

3 sources · 3 articlesFirst reported Updated ()1
What's new

October 28: GBHackers said the filing service went down around 10 p.m. Eastern on October 26, that an October 27 notice identified the issue, and that officials have not confirmed access or theft.

Merged summary · x-ai/grok-4.7 · rewritten as coverage arrivesSummaries by Vani AI

The FEC electronic filing system remains offline after late-October breach attempts, blocking new filings but not voting or past reports.

The U.S. Federal Election Commission took web-facing electronic filing offline late on October 26 after an officer told compliance firms a bad actor was attempting to breach agency systems, according to an email Reuters saw. New candidate and committee filings, including 24-hour and 48-hour spending reports, remain blocked ahead of the November 3 midterms. Voting is unaffected, and previously filed reports stay searchable. A status page logged an investigation at 10:15 p.m. Eastern and said on October 27 that a fix was being implemented, but the incident stayed unresolved. Reuters and the FEC have not identified an attacker, method, data theft, ransomware, or software flaw.

Key facts
  • Outage began late October 26; GBHackers places it around 10 p.m. Eastern.
  • New 24-hour and 48-hour spending filings are blocked, not ballot casting.
  • October 27 status said a fix was being implemented; the incident stayed unresolved.
  • No attacker, method, ransomware, software flaw, or data theft has been confirmed.
  • OpenSecrets, cited by Reuters, said super PACs averaged over $50 million daily.
  • Cyber Security News also listed a related FECfile+ submission outage.
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Timeline

dated events in the reporting · oldest first
  1. Oct 20, 2026More than $250 million in spending was reported. · Cyber Security News
  2. Oct 26, 2026Electronic filing taken offline after reported breach attempts. · Cyber Security News
  3. Oct 27, 2026Status page said a fix was being implemented. · Cyber Security News
  4. Nov 3, 2026Midterms that will decide control of Congress. · DataBreaches.net

What each outlet adds

beyond the shared facts
  • DataBreaches.netReuters saw the officer email; the FEC declined further comment.
  • Cyber Security NewsStatus timestamps, FECfile+ outage, and OpenSecrets spending totals.
  • GBHackersPlaces the outage around 10 p.m. and says access or theft is unconfirmed.
Victims
Federal Election CommissionUS Federal Election CommissionU.S. Federal Election Commission
Organizations
ReutersOpenSecretsFederal Election Commission
Countries
United States

Coverage

oldest first · one row per article · UTC
  1. · 3d ago DataBreaches.netFirst report

    Hacking attempts knock US FEC electronic filing system offline

    The outage comes about a week before the November 3 elections; past reports remain searchable.

  2. · 2d ago Cyber Security News

    FEC shuts electronic filing after attempted breach before midterms

    New campaign-finance submissions were blocked from late October 26; voting and already filed public records were not.

  3. · 2d ago GBHackers

    FEC shuts web services after attempted intrusion before midterms

    New electronic campaign-finance filings were blocked; officials have not confirmed access or theft, and voting systems were not involved.