Texas Parks and Wildlife Vendor Breach Exposes 3.1M Records

A data breach at a third-party vendor used by the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department has exposed the personal information of more than 3 million adult customers who purchased hunting and fishing licenses, state officials announced this week.

The breach, discovered by Texas Cyber Command, involved the external vendor that processes license sales for the agency. Officials confirmed that the personal records of exactly 3,087,721 individuals were exposed. The compromised data includes driver's license information, passport numbers if provided, email addresses, phone numbers, and residential addresses. Authorities stated that highly sensitive financial data, including Social Security numbers, dates of birth, and credit card details, was not obtained.

The Texas Parks and Wildlife Department said there is no evidence that customers under the age of 18 were affected or that any specific demographic was deliberately targeted. However, the agency acknowledged that many of its own staff members, who are also hunters and anglers, are among those whose data was exposed.

While direct financial information was not stolen, cybersecurity experts warn that the combination of contact and...