Sales of state hunting, fishing licenses temporarily halted because of computer hack

OLYMPIA – State officials say the sale of hunting and fishing licenses has been suspended because of a cybersecurity breach.

The Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife said Wednesday it halted the sale of fishing and hunting licenses while it works with the state Office of Cyber Security to investigate a vulnerability in an outside vendor’s license sale system.

Officials said the system was recently exploited in several states, including Washington.

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

Officials said license sales will resume as soon as they can ensure the system is secure.