A fly fisherman casts his fly rod into the Deschutes River at around on an August morning outside Maupin, Oregon. Idaho, Oregon and Washington have shutdown online sales of hunting and fishing licenses amid concerns a vendor's computer system has been hacked and personal information is at risk. (Mark Graves/staff)
BOISE, Idaho — Notices that personal information might have been compromised will be sent to hunting and fishing license holders in Idaho and Oregon following the breach of a vendor's computer system. They likely will be sent in Washington state, too.
Officials in Idaho and Oregon said Dallas-based Active Network will mail the notices to people in their states following the computer hack last week that shut down online license sales.
Washington officials said they're in contact with the company and expect similar letters to be sent in their state, but that hadn't been finalized Friday. Officials say the number of records exposed could be in the millions.
Online license sales have been halted in all three states until the extent of the hack is fully understood.
"They've only been able to confirm that it was possible that personal information was accessed," Idaho Department of Fish and Game spokesman Mike Keckler said. "We do not know yet whether or not that actually occurred, and we may not ever know."
Hunting and fishing licenses can still be purchased at the states' wildlife offices or at businesses that sell the licenses.
It's unclear when online sales might resume.
"I don't have an estimate," Bruce Botka of Washington's wildlife agency said. "Our most important concern is ensuring the security of that particular channel."
Officials in the three states said only about 20 percent of license sales occur online, with about 80 percent in person at state wildlife offices or businesses that sell the licenses.
But that can be a problem for out-of-state hunters or anglers planning trips to the Northwest. Oregon officials have had to resort to processing license applications over the phone, said Rick Hargrave of Oregon's Department of Fish and Wildlife.
"Kind of the old-school way," he said.
An Active Network spokesman didn't return a call from The Associated Press seeking comment Friday.
-- The Associated Press
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