October 25, 2026, 11:41 am | Read time: 2 minutes
IT experts from the U.S. government are said to have received an unusual assignment a few months after Donald Trump’s second term begins in 2025. They were to secretly attempt to hack a voting machine and relay its results to the White House. The manufacturer, however, was not to be informed of any potential security vulnerabilities.
Agency was not to inform the manufacturer
The U.S. investigative outlet “ProPublica” reports on the incident, citing two former government employees. According to them, the directive came from the Department of Homeland Security to the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA). Their duties typically include informing the respective manufacturer about discovered flaws so they can address the weaknesses.
In this case, things were apparently supposed to be different. One of the informants suspected political motives due to the required secrecy. The government might later use the results to challenge and invalidate election outcomes. Whether the government actually planned such an approach is not clear from the report.
CISA employees also repeatedly informed the department that they could not carry out the requested task. According to “ProPublica,” among other things, they lacked the necessary specialists. Due to Elon Musk’s DOGE cost-cutting initiative, experts who could have conducted such a test were laid off. Ultimately, the officials did not pursue the demand further.
CISA lacks specialists ahead of U.S. elections
The reduction in staff is also reportedly causing issues with regard to the U.S. congressional elections in November. According to “ProPublica,” several state election agencies have already complained in recent months about the lack of support from CISA.
Some agencies are therefore acquiring technology themselves to monitor their networks for suspicious activities. In August, five Democratic representatives also warned in a letter that CISA had lost nearly a third of its personnel.
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The representatives therefore called on the U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) to investigate the situation. The aim is to determine whether CISA can continue to fulfill its duties. The White House defended Trump’s approach. No other president has done more for free and fair elections, stated spokeswoman Lauren Bis. The Department of Homeland Security and CISA initially did not comment on the specific allegations.