OLYMPIA — A new report from the state Attorney General’s Office says nearly a half a million residents were impacted by data breaches between July 2015 and July 2016.
A new law went into effect last year that requires businesses and public agencies to report data breaches. In the first year under the law, companies reported 39 incidents and affected at least 450,000 Washingtonians.
The reports came from hotel chains, telecommunications companies, a school district and retails stores.
The report says some cases were targeted cyberattacks. In other cases, information was mistakenly lost or disclosed.
Attorney General Bob Ferguson said the report shows how important it is that consumers are notified when information may be compromised.
