Texas says vendor breach may have exposed data of more than 3 million license customers

Texas Cyber Command is reporting a data breach tied to a vendor for the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department that may have exposed personal information belonging to more than 3 million hunting and fishing license customers.

TPWD said the exposed data may include driver’s license information, passport numbers, email addresses, phone numbers and residential addresses. The department said Social Security numbers, financial information and birthdates were not compromised.

According to TPWD, the breach reportedly occurred last Thursday. The department said it found that an unauthorized actor may have obtained customer information through the license system vendor.

TPWD said the incident affects customers who used the state’s hunting and fishing license systems. The department said many of its staff are anglers and hunters themselves and were affected by the breach, according to the report summary.

TPWD said it is working with the vendor on new safeguards and enhanced monitoring services. The department also said it took immediate steps to strengthen access controls for customer profile data.

Affected customers are eligible for one year of free credit monitoring through Kroll, TPWD said. Customers can confirm eligibility through a dedicated call center at 844-959-7123, and the enrollment deadline is Sept. 14.

Texas Cyber Command did not immediately respond to a request for comment, according to the source report.

What happens next

TPWD said it is continuing to work with the license system vendor on security steps and monitoring. Affected customers have until Sept. 14 to enroll in the free credit monitoring offer.

Sources

• Houston Public Media
• Google News RSS

Editorial note: This article was prepared with AI assistance and includes source attribution for reader review.