Other LanguagesWelcome to the Washington State Attorney General’s online Data Breach Resource Center.
We provide this content because you are best able to safeguard your data when you are aware of the threats.
These following webpages provide important information for consumers and businesses to protect themselves from the harms associated with data breaches, learn about the impact data breaches have on our state and its residents, and ensure compliance with our state’s data breach notification law.
Data Breach Notification Web Form
Washington law requires businesses, individuals, and public agencies to notify any Washington resident who is at risk of harm because of the unauthorized acquisition of data that compromises the security, confidentiality, or integrity of that resident’s personal information (RCW 19.255 & RCW 42.56.590).
In the event that such a breach affects more than 500 Washington residents, that entity must also notify the Attorney General of the breach no more than 30 days after the breach was discovered.
You can submit notice to our office using our data breach notification web form.
Please see the “Resources for Businesses and Agencies Affected by a Data Breach” section of our Data Breach Resources page for more information on submitting a data breach notification to our office.
Data Breach Notifications Directory
The data breach notifications directory is an interactive list of all notices submitted to our office since our state’s notification laws took effect on July 24, 2015.
Data Breach Live Statistics
In 2021, the AGO built a new data collection system to track information about the data breach notices we receive. This database allows us to perform efficient analysis and update infographics and charts in real time as we receive new data.
Washington State’s Data Breach Notification Law
At the request of the Attorney General, the Legislature passed Washington’s data breach notification law in 2015, and updated it in 2019. While all fifty states have some form of a data breach notification law, Washington has one of the strongest in the nation.
Click here for more information about Washington’s laws, including comparisons to other states.
Annual Data Breach Reports
Since 2016, our office has published an annual Data Breach Report analyzing the previous year’s data breach notices and making legislative recommendations to improve protections for Washingtonians.
You can view the most recent Data Breach Report and reports from previous years on our Data Breach Report page.
Resources for Consumers and Businesses
The Data Breach Resources page contains resources to help consumers and businesses mitigate their risk of being subjected to data breaches and identity theft, as well as information on steps to take after your data is compromised.