Hackers have targeted the Federal Election Commission (FEC), forcing the agency to move quickly to revamp its website and launch a threat hunt just weeks before the 2024 election.
Secrets learned this week that the Department of Homeland Security notified FEC officials in April of the discovery of evidence indicating that unknown sources were attempting to sell data obtained through its online system.
Read also: Russian hacking gang Gamaredon remains active in Ukraine
The good news for the FEC is that the information being leaked appears to be “public,” such as campaign donor reports and FEC decision documents. The bad news, however, is that the hacker remains unidentified. Even more troubling is that officials cannot determine whether there was an actual breach, and if so, how extensive it was.
About ten years ago, during a budget-induced government shutdown, officials reported that hackers from China had compromised the FEC's system.
This new report comes just weeks after officials announced that former President Donald Trump's website was hacked by Iran, with information from the system leaking to the media and other sources.
The FBI has warned that political hacking attacks are certain to occur before the election and could disrupt the process.
See related: Multiple Iranians accused of hacking Donald Trump's campaign
In a memo sent this week, FEC staff director Alec Palmer briefed the two congressional that oversee the agency about the breach or potential intrusion, which led to the transition to a new internal system that has beefed up security.
“The FEC continues to work with the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) as well as the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to investigate potential breaches of legacy legal search systems,” Alec Palmer said in a memo sent yesterday to the Senate Rules and House Administration Committees.
Additionally, Alec Palmer announced that the agency has launched an investigation into the new system for threat detection. "The FEC has asked CISA to conduct a 'Threat Hunt,' which is underway. FEC teams are working closely with CISA and are ready to react if any indicators of compromise are identified," he added.
A person familiar with the investigation told Secrets: "There was a potential breach and a significant number of attempted exploits, but assessments of whether there was an actual compromise remain unclear. We continue to work on this issue."
Read more: Hackers hide malware in fake "deleted Diddy files"
FEC Commissioner James E. “Trey” Trainor III said, “Regarding Threat Hunt, it is critical to understand how the breach in order to prevent future, more serious breaches. This process is ongoing and is an ongoing vigilance effort.”
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Source: washingtonexaminer
