Approximately 650,000 business license holders part of data breach

The Department of Licensing is notifying Washington businesses that during the week of Jan. 24, 2022, they became aware of suspicious activity involving professional and occupational license information contained within the Professional and Business Licensing System. 

When the activity was found, DOL immediately shut the system down and began its investigation with the assistance of the Washington Technology Solutions (WaTech) and experts in the field of cyber security.

The investigation to this point has revealed that around 650,000 individuals may have been affected. These individuals include active licensees and people with expired, revoked, or suspended licenses.

Information accessed could include social security numbers, dates of birth, driver license numbers, and other personally identifying information.

The investigation did lead to the department ruling out any likelihood that other DOL systems, such as the driver and vehicle licensing system (DRIVES), were compromised. 

DOL is notifying all affected individuals in a variety of ways, including direct notice, notice to the Washington Attorney General, and notice through updated information on their website. 

These notifications to individuals will include an offer of free credit monitoring.

While the professional licensing system remains offline, DOL has begun processing license renewals. 

Law enforcement has been alerted. The investigation is continuing. 

You can visit https://www.dol.wa.gov/intent for more information.

For further information about this incident, please contact the below number.

• Phone number: (855) 568-2052
• Hours of operation: 8 a.m. – 5 p.m., seven days a week

The latest information and additional resources are on our website: dol.wa.gov/outage.