The Coast Guard's personnel and pay system taken offline, investigating breach
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The United States Coast Guard (USCG) reported a cybersecurity incident affecting their Direct Access system, which manages personnel and payroll operations. The breach was discovered on February 16, 2025, when a junior petty officer noticed suspicious activity in their pay account and reported it to Coast Guard Cyber Command.
The system was immediately taken offline as a precautionary measure and is expected to remain unavailable until at least February 19, 2025. Coast Guard Investigative Service and Coast Guard Cyber Command are conducting an investigation to determine the source of the breach and implement necessary security measures.
The breach has directly affected 1,135 Coast Guard members, causing delays in their active-duty paycheck distribution. Exposed data types include;
- Bank routing numbers
- Direct deposit account information
- Additional sensitive information (specific details not disclosed pending investigation)
The cause of the current attack and the potential value of compromised data have not been disclosed.
The Coast Guard Personnel Service Center and Pay and Personnel Center are working to process offline payments to mitigate the impact on affected personnel. They have also stated that if the investigation reveals additional compromised information, affected members will be notified.
