Coast Guard investigates data breach affecting over 1,100 members

The United States Coast Guard has taken its personnel and payroll system, Direct Access, offline following a data breach that compromised the sensitive information of more than 1,100 service members. Officials announced Friday that the system will remain down until at least February 19 as an investigation into the incident unfolds.

According to a statement from the Coast Guard, the breach was detected when a junior petty officer observed unusual activity in their pay account and reported it to Coast Guard Cyber Command. The system, which manages key payroll and personnel functions, was promptly shut down to protect other accounts from potential unauthorized access.

The timing of the breach coincided with an active-duty payroll cycle, causing delays in payments for 1,135 affected members. Coast Guard officials confirmed that the Personnel Service Center and the Pay and Personnel Center have initiated expedited processes to ensure these members receive their pay as quickly as possible. Offline payments are currently being processed to mitigate financial disruption.

The Coast Guard Cyber Command and the Coast Guard Investigative Service are leading a comprehensive investigation to identify the source of the breach and strengthen security measures. The service has committed to providing regular updates to personnel and has assured affected members that they will be notified if additional information is found to have been compromised.

This breach comes amid broader scrutiny of federal agencies’ cybersecurity vulnerabilities. The Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), led by billionaire and senior Trump adviser Elon Musk, has been conducting reviews across federal systems, including agencies under the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), which oversees the Coast Guard. However, DHS has not responded to inquiries regarding DOGE’s involvement in Coast Guard operations, and the White House has similarly remained silent on the matter.

This is not the first data security incident to impact the Coast Guard in recent months. In April, the Coast Guard Reserve suffered a separate breach that mistakenly exposed the home addresses of more than 7,500 members, along with names and employee identification numbers of over 3,000 personnel. That incident was attributed to an accidental distribution of private information to unauthorized recipients.