ELEVATED RISK BREACH

Washington State Food Workers Data Breach


Status: Confirmed

1.6M+Records
Nov, 2022Breach
3/31/24Data Posted
6/10Severity
ModerateThreat Level

Breach Intelligence Summary


Entity: Washington State Food Workers · Actor: Unknown · Source: Have I Been Pwned / ObscureIQ intelligence

Attack: Data Exfiltration via Under investigation

Timeline: Breach (Nov, 2022) · Reported (Mar, 2024) · Leak (3/31/24)

Exposure: 1.6M+ records · Dates of birth, Driver’s licenses, Email, Geographic locations, Names

Status: Confirmed · Risk: Moderate (Credential reuse / phishing)

Summary

In June 2023 the Tacoma-Pierce County Health Department announced a data breach of their Washington State Food Worker Card online training system. The breach was published to a popular hacking forum the year before and dated back to a 2018 database backup. Included in the data were 1.6M unique email addresses along with names post codes, dates of birth and approximately 9.5k driver’s licence numbers.

About Washington State Food Workers

Washington State Food Workers is the organization affected by this breach. User data may have been generated through account creation, service usage, or business operations.

If you have interacted with Washington State Food Workers in any capacity, your data may be included in this breach.

Threat Actor: Unknown

The threat actor responsible for this breach has not been publicly identified or confirmed at this time.

Reported or suspected access method:
  • Under investigation

Breach Exploitation Status

Threat Activity:
Moderate
Signal
Status
Dark web marketplace listings
Detected
Credential stuffing list overlap
Unknown
Phishing campaign relevance
Possible
Ransomware affiliate crossover
Unknown
Law enforcement investigation visibility
Unknown

Data Longevity:
1–3 years

Email addresses and usernames persist but credentials may rotate. Phishing risk remains elevated during this window.

Data Points Exposed

Data observed in the leaked dataset:
Dates of birth
Driver’s licenses
Email
Geographic locations
Names
Not confirmed in dataset:
Passwords (plaintext)
Social Security Numbers
Payment card data

Dark Web Verification

Status: Confirmed

  • Dataset containing approximately 1.6M+ records has been identified in breach intelligence sources.
  • The data is indexed and searchable across breach notification platforms.

Impact

This breach carries moderate risk due to the nature of exposed data fields and the scale of affected records.

Primary downstream threats include:
  • Targeted phishing referencing Washington State Food Workers accounts or services
  • Age/DOB used to bypass identity verification questions
  • Data broker enrichment and resale

Recommendations for Impacted Individuals

If you believe your information may be included:

Check Your Exposure
If you are an ObscureIQ client, this breach has been indexed into your exposure profile.
Non-clients may request a breach impact review.
Expect Targeted Phishing
Watch for messages referencing:
Washington State Food Workers account updates
Password reset requests
Verify directly through official channels.
Secure Your Email and MFA
Enable MFA immediately on email first, then financial platforms.
Email compromise is often the first pivot point.
Rotate Reused Passwords
Change any credentials shared with your Washington State Food Workers account across other services.
Monitor Financial Accounts
Monitor accounts associated with your exposed email for unauthorized activity.
Suppress Personal Data
Remove exposed addresses, phone numbers, and enrichment data from broker networks and search engines.

Frequently Asked Questions

What happened in the Washington State Food Workers data breach?

In Nov, 2022, Washington State Food Workers experienced a data breach that resulted in the exposure of approximately 1.6M+ records containing personal information.

What data was exposed in the Washington State Food Workers breach?

The exposed data includes Dates of birth, Driver’s licenses, Email, Geographic locations, Names.

How many records were affected in the Washington State Food Workers breach?

Approximately 1.6M+ records were affected based on current breach intelligence.

Is the Washington State Food Workers breach confirmed?

Yes. This breach is treated as confirmed based on data observed in breach intelligence platforms.

Is the Washington State Food Workers breach data being used by criminals?

Data circulation has been detected across breach-sharing channels. Downstream exploitation risk exists based on the nature of the exposed fields.

What should I do if I was affected by the Washington State Food Workers breach?

Rotate passwords associated with Washington State Food Workers, enable multi-factor authentication on email and financial accounts, and monitor for suspicious activity.

Protect Yourself

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Corporate Accountability

Organizations that collect personal data have a duty to implement reasonable safeguards and to notify affected individuals when breaches occur.

Scope assessments may evolve as investigations continue. Users should not rely solely on early estimates when making risk decisions.

ObscureIQ Advisory

We combine proprietary dark web access with commercial and restricted breach intelligence to verify exposure and assess real-world risk.

If you are:
  • A public-facing individual
  • A high-profile executive
  • A customer of Washington State Food Workers
  • Or simply concerned about credential reuse

We can confirm whether your information is circulating and evaluate downstream threat vectors.

Services
AuditsWipesThreat MonitoringTraining

Classification Tags

Data Exfiltration
Email