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A data breach affecting the US Coast Guard has resulted in its payroll and personnel systems being disabled, delaying pay for over 1,000 service members.
In a widely reported statement, the US Coast Guard said it was currently investigating the incident and that as a result of the incident, bi-weekly pay for its 1,135 members would be delayed.
“The Coast Guard Investigative Service and Coast Guard Cyber Command are leading an exhaustive investigation to determine the source and impact of the breach and will ensure it is resolved as soon as possible,” said the statement.
“Concurrently, the Coast Guard Personnel Service Center and Pay and Personnel Center are expediting pay to any impacted Coast Guard members.”
The breach was first discovered after a screenshot of two emails from a senior Coast Guard member was shared on social media. The emails ask service members not to share news of the data breach and that another email would disclose more details.
The statement also said the US Coast Guard would provide updates as its investigation continues.
“[Service members] also deserve transparency into the causes and resolution of this incident. Through the ongoing response and investigation, the Coast Guard will continue to provide timely updates to the workforce, and clarity regarding the service’s efforts to address any vulnerabilities in our data system,” the statement said.
The data breach comes a month after US President Donald Trump axed US Coast Guard Commandant Admiral Linda Lee Fagan.
Fagan was nominated for the position in 2021, becoming the first female uniformed leader of an armed forces branch.
Fagan was removed from the position as part of Trump’s move to eliminate diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) policies, something which Fagan had an “excessive” focus on, according to a senior Department of Homeland Security official.
The official also said that she failed to address border security threats, mishandled and covered up an internal investigation into sexual assault cases called Operation Fouled Anchor and more.
However, she also prioritised cyber security, establishing the Coast Guard’s third cyber protection team and highlighting that “everywhere the United States has maritime interests, we protect, we defend, we save”.
The US Coast Guard also suffered a data breach less than 12 months ago, when the data of 10,700 personnel was leaked in April.
Data contained the home addresses of 7,554 people as well as the names and employee ID numbers of 3,146 people.
Additionally, in November last year, infamous threat actor “natohub” posted to a popular hacking forum claiming to have conducted a “US military data breach,” which allegedly contained the data of over 385,000 military personnel and contractors of the US Army, Navy, Marine Corps, Air Force and Coast Guard.
Data reportedly included “EDIPI, name, email, phone, service, component, primary MOS, billet MOS, billet desc, unit information, company, platoon, work section, street address, city/state/zip”, according to the threat actor.
A month later, natohub also claimed they had two files containing 2,435 users and 10,878 users, respectively.
While the threat actor provided little information about the nature of the incident, they did provide samples of the data.
Based on the samples, data includes full names, email addresses, ranks, branches, unit codes, birth dates, time zones and more.
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