State licensing website restored following data breach, months-long investigation
DOL shuts down online business licensing services due to data breach
During the week of Jan. 24, the Washington Department of Licensing shut down its Professional Online Licensing and Regulatory Information System (POLARIS), frustrating small business owners as they try to stay afloat during the pandemic.
OLYMPIA, Wash. - The Washington State Department of Licensing (DOL) has reopened its online licensing system following a months-long investigation.
Officials restored service to the online portal on Tuesday, allowing people to renew their professional licenses and apply for new ones.
The DOL shut down the service on Jan. 24, after officials detected a massive data breach. Investigators said hackers stole at least some Social Security numbers and other sensitive personal data of 650,000 current and former Washington state professionals and business owners.
Other information included driver’s license numbers and dates of birth.
The site being down posed major problems for small business owners trying to stay afloat during the COVID-19 pandemic. FOX 13 News spoke with an aggrieved real estate agent who was stuck waiting for the state to process licenses again, with no timeline for when she could get her career moving again.
For professionals whose licenses expired during that outage, the DOL is waiving all late filing penalties through Apr. 1.
The DOL says they conducted a thorough investigation of their database, and have not detected any further breaches. Officials note the ‘Pay by Employer’ option, used by some professions like security guards, is not functional yet.
Anyone who may have their information compromised has received a letter from DOL, outlining instructions on how to get free credit monitoring. The deadline to enroll for this is May 24.
For more information, visit the Department of Licensing website.
RELATED: State licensing, renewal website down causing delays for business owners
READ MORE: Data breach: Thieves got access to 650,000 individuals’ info on Washington database
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