The Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife (WDFW) on Sunday resumed the sale of fishing and hunting licenses at its network of licensed dealers. License sales were suspended last week while a security issue with the sales system was investigated.

Customers also will be able to purchase those items by phone beginning Monday, Aug. 29, by calling WDFW customer service at (360) 902-2464.

All license sales were halted earlier this week in response to the discovery of a vulnerability in an outside vendor’s system that was recently exploited to expose personal information about customers in several states, including Washington, Idaho, and Oregon.

Jim Unsworth, WDFW director, said department personnel, in collaboration with the state Office of Cyber Security, the vendor, and law enforcement agencies, were able to restore the dealer services after confirming they were secure.

“With many excellent late summer and fall hunting and fishing opportunities rapidly approaching, this is great news for hunters, anglers, and everyone who enjoys Washington’s outdoors,” Unsworth said. “I appreciate our customers’ patience this last week while license sales were unavailable.”

Unsworth said WDFW is offering free fishing days through Tuesday (Aug. 30), but beginning Wednesday (Aug. 31) all anglers, hunters, and other recreationists using department facilities and recreation lands will need the appropriate licenses, endorsements, and other required permits. More details are available at http://wdfw.wa.gov/news/aug2516a.

WDFW officials said online sales and related services will not restart yet. For more information, visit http://wdfw.wa.gov/licensing/wild_system.