Breach exposes data of 3 million Texas hunting and fishing license holders, officials say

More than 3 million Texans are being offered free credit monitoring after a cybersecurity incident exposed driver's license and contact information from the state's hunting and fishing license system, Texas Parks and Wildlife Department officials said.

Texas Cyber Command detected the breach at the agency's third‑party licensing vendor. Officials said no Social Security numbers, dates of birth, or financial information were accessed, and records belonging to minors were not affected.

Details of compromised information

The data exposed included driver's license information, passport numbers, email addresses, phone numbers, and home addresses for about 3 million customers, according to the department.

"Many of our staff are hunters and anglers and were affected by this incident," TPWD said in a news release. "... Immediate steps were taken to strengthen access controls for customer profile data, and additional security features will be added in the future."

"We are committed to continuing to work with the license system vendor to implement increased safeguards to prevent future incidents."

In response, the department said it is working with the license system vendor and has strengthened access controls and monitoring.

License sales were unaffected, and sales will proceed as scheduled for August and the next license year, TPWD said.

Credit monitoring and consumer guidance

One year of free Kroll credit monitoring is being offered to those impacted, with an enrollment deadline of Sept. 14, 2026.

Those affected are advised to monitor their accounts, freeze their credit, place fraud alerts and stay vigilant for scams or impersonation attempts.

Support available for those impacted

The department said support is available from 8 a.m.–5:30 p.m. Monday through Friday at (844) 959‑7123.