Hunting and fishing license sales suspended while state agencies investigate system vulnerability

OLYMPIA - The Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife (WDFW) has temporarily suspended the sale of fishing and hunting licenses while it works with the state Office of Cyber Security (OCS) to investigate a vulnerability in an outside vendor’s license sale system that was recently exploited in several states, including Washington.

The vendor’s vulnerability allowed access to some personal information provided by customers who purchased fishing and hunting licenses. WDFW and OCS are working with the vendor and collaborating with law enforcement, federal agencies, and officials in other states to determine how much information was accessed.

WDFW is working to resume license sales as soon as it can ensure the security of the system. More information will be released as it becomes available.