Conceal carry weapon holders of California had their personal information leaked online by what was thought to be an update to the state’s firearms data dashboard that would provide and encourage transparency and data-sharing.
According to the press release, the information that was leaked was both personal information of the individuals and whether or not they were granted permits to lawfully conceal carry weapons in the state of California.
“This unauthorized release of personal information is unacceptable and falls far short of my expectations for this department,” said Attorney General Rob Bonta. “I immediately launched an investigation into how this occurred at the California Department of Justice and will take strong corrective measures where necessary.”
“The California Department of Justice is entrusted to protect Californians and their data” he added. “We acknowledge the stress this may cause those individuals whose information was exposed. I am deeply disturbed and angered.”
After the California Department of Justice (DoJ) had been made aware of this circumstance they immediately shut down the website. The website had only exposed the information of these individuals for less than 24 hours.
The California DoJ has also recommended that individuals who might have been exposed in this leak take some of the following precautions to protect their identity:
- Monitor your credit, by getting a free copy of your credit score online.
- Consider placing a free credit freeze on your credit report, by contacting three of the major credit bureaus.
- Consider placing a fraud alert on your credit report.
- Contact your local police or sheriff’s department to report identity theft and generate a recovery plan by using the Federal Trade Commission website on identity theft.
