Trump appointees ordered secret hacking of US voting machine
Trump administration officials asked the US cybersecurity agency to secretly hack a voting machine.
Appointees at the Department of Homeland Security made a request. They asked the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency to buy a voting machine.
They also asked CISA to hack it. Then CISA should send the results to the White House.
According to one former official, the request shocked CISA's career staff. The agency was told to keep the work secret.
CISA's testing went beyond the usual voting-system testing that election officials do. It shows how the Trump administration has pushed federal cybersecurity experts.
They were expected to work for the White House. Instead of staying neutral protectors of voting systems.
- Department of Homeland Security appointees
- Requesting agency
- Few months into Trump's second term
- Timeline
Why it mattersThis shows political appointees trying to control voting-security agencies. They want to use them for White House goals. It raises concerns about threats to election integrity. These threats can come from inside government.
AustraliaNo direct Australian effect yet, but the incident signals global risks to democratic elections if governments weaponise cybersecurity agencies against their own electoral systems.
✓ Claims checked against the source and corrected before publish. checked 1 h ago
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