"California DOJ Data Breach Exposes Personal Information of All Concealed Carry Permit Holders Across State"
Personal information of all concealed carry permit holders in California was exposed after the state Department of Justice suffered a data breach. On Tuesday, the Fresno County Sheriff's Office learned of the breach from the California State Sherriff's Association. The sheriff's office noted that the breach occurred as part of the state DOJ's launch of its "2022 Firearms Dashboard Portal." It was noted that this public site allows access to certain information, however, personal information of Concealed Carry Weapon (CCW) permit holders is not supposed to be visible. According to the sheriff's office, the personal information included a person's name, age, address, Criminal Identification Index number, and license type. The state DOJ pulled down the dashboard site along with all related links after learning of the breach. However, officials warned that "portions of private information may have been posted on social media websites." The sheriff's office said it was unknown exactly how long the information was accessible. The California attorney general's office said it was investigating the exposure. The sheriff's office urges anyone who learns their identity was compromised to make an online report.