Coast Guard Shuts Down Pay System After Data Breach Affects 1,100+ Members

The Coast Guard's Direct Access system, which handles salary and personnel files, was shut down on Friday after a data breach that affected more than 1,100 members was found. Private financial information, like bank routing numbers and direct deposit account information, was made public by the hack.

The breach was first discovered when a junior petty officer saw strange behavior in their pay account and told Coast Guard Cyber Command about it. In reaction, the system was shut down immediately to protect other accounts and prevent it from being hacked again.

The event was especially annoying because it happened on the same day that active-duty military members got their paychecks. This meant that payments were late for 1,135 service members. Coast Guard officials said in a statement that the Pay and Personnel Center is trying to speed up payments for those affected by this by hand.

At the same time, Coast Guard Cyber Command and the Coast Guard Investigative Service have started a full investigation to determine where the breach came from and whether there are any other holes. Officials said they would keep members up to date and let them know if any more data was stolen.

This is the second major data breach at the Coast Guard in less than a year. In April 2024, the home addresses of 7,500 members and the employee ID numbers of more than 3,000 staff were accidentally made public.

As cyber threats continue to grow, the breach makes people worry about how safe government systems are for payroll and managing employees. The Coast Guard leadership has not yet made long-term plans to improve digital security public. Still, officials stressed that protecting service members' personal and financial data remains a top concern.

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