A famous quote by Supreme Court Justice Louis Brandeis is engraved at the front door of The Federal Election Commission. ‘Sunlight is said to be the best of disinfectants’ the quote says. In many of the Federal Election Commission (FEC) businesses, the populace and electorate would love to see it act just as this refreshing quote declares.

FEC was created by the congress in 1975. Its primary role was and still remains to administer as well as ensure that the Federal Election Campaign Act is followed and enforced to the letter. The act is the one which oversees the financing of all federal elections. As for the FEC, its primary duty is to disclose all the campaign financial information. Things such as the limits and prohibitions of campaign funds fall under FEC. Even the public funding of US presidential election is regulated by FEC.

Even after being given such important mandate and after being placed on such a high pedestal by the American public, FEC seems to hesitate in releasing its findings on a recent security system audit.

The audit which was conducted at the cost of the tax-payer was supposed to give a detailed look into how security management of FEC computer systems and networks work. The study as it turns out paints a grim picture of how FEC’s computer system and networks was infiltrated by Chinese hackers in 2013. This is according to a report by Center for the Public Integrity.

The report which was euphemized as NIST by FEC staff, gives a detailed list of the things that haven’t been going right in the online security front of this independent agency. The NIST gives recommendations on ways to correct the many flaws within the FEC computer systems. These recommendations are in line with the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) computer security procedures.