The California Department of Justice revealed it had made the personal information of thousands of gun owners available to the public, in a scandal that appears to prove usage of a much more expansive set of sensitive information than the agency had originally claimed.
The Breach Of Trust’ California Gun Owners data breach publicized the names, date of birth, gender, race, driving license numbers, addresses, and criminal histories of people who were granted or denied permits to carry concealed weapons between 2011 and 2021. The state’s Assault Weapon Registry, Handguns Certified for Sale, Dealer Record of Sale, Firearm Certificate Safety, and Gun Violence Restraining Order dashboards were also affected, the department said.
The California attorney general ordered an investigation into the exposure of sensitive agency information, saying he was upset and bothered by the lack of action by the division to protect such information. You can protect sensitive information with the use of a VPN for Android with the best security and privacy features.
“This unauthorized release of personal information is unacceptable and falls far short of my expectations for this department,” Rob Bonta said.
On Wednesday, Fresno County Sheriff’s Office announced that it had been informed by a private business that the general public had been notified of a breach of trust’ California gun owners data leak. They started investigating after previous reports had suggested that most people licensed to carry concealed firearms had been affected by the incident. Also, you can know about 700K YRMC patients impacted by data leak.
The post sparked outrage among members of Congress, California law enforcement officials, and the firearms rights organization. The California Rifle and Pistol Association called the development too shameful and said it showed law-enforcement personnel and those needing permits, such as victims of sexual harassment and domestic violence, in a negative light.
The state of justice announced on Monday that it had discovered the data exposed when the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) updated its Firearms Dashboard Portal. The security information did not appear to remain publicly accessible for more than 24 hours, and it was available on individual spreadsheets for just a little while. Social Security numbers and financial information were concealed from the data.
The Department of Homeland Security has said that it’s evaluating whether the info was copied and posted, or if some of it was downloaded examiners are yet to establish an exact count. The California State Sheriffs’ Association noted it also appears that some files were copied illegally and subsequently uploaded on illegal websites before the Microsoft investigation team identified the problem.
“It is infuriating that people who have been complying with the law have been put at risk by this breach,” said Butte county sheriff, Kory Honea, the president of the California State Sheriffs Association. Sheriffs were worried about safeguarding identities to ensure that holders did not become victims as a result of not following the laws.
Bonta promised to make certain to take strong remedial measures if necessary due to the circumstance. Breach of trust’ California gun owners data leak blasted by firearms policy advocates.
“The California Department of justice is entrusted to protect Californians and their data. We acknowledge the stress this may cause those individuals whose information was exposed,” Bonta said.
The Department hopes to alert its citizens who have been affected by the Breach of Trust’ California gun owners data leak and provide credit monitoring services.
California issued nearly 40,000 conceal and carry permits in the previous year, up from just over 100,000 over the previous peak in 2016, as shown by the state Department of Justice s site.