Did you apply for a CCW permit between 2011-2021? Your personal information maybe exposed

Sheyanne N Romero, Salinas Californian
·3 min read
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A data breach exposed the personal information of California residents granted or denied a concealed carry weapons (CCW) permit by the state's Department of Justice.

Anyone who applied for a CCW permit between 2011-2021 are considered at risk of having their information leaked. The information exposed includes names, dates of birth, genders, races, driver’s license numbers, addresses, and potential criminal history.

Social Security numbers or any financial information were not disclosed, according to DOJ officials. That information is typically not linked to weapons permits.

“This unauthorized release of personal information is unacceptable and falls far short of my expectations for this department,” Attorney General Rob Bonta said. “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. I am deeply disturbed and angered.”

Bonta has since launched an investigation into how this data breach occurred and said he will “take strong corrective measures where necessary.”

Following the DOJ’s announcement, the Monterey County Sheriff’s Department released an alert to make all local CCW permit holders aware of the breach.

“It is disturbing to hear of a data breach by the California Department of Justice (DOJ) that has made public the personal information of California’s citizen concealed weapon (CCW) permit holders,” Sheriff Steve Bernal stated. “It is unclear what the scope of the breach is at this time.”

Bernal said he is “very concerned” about the data breach and the risk it poses to state and local CCW permit holders. Sheriff’s officials don’t have a list of CCW permit holders whose data was leaked.

However, the DOJ is planning to notify everyone whose data may be compromised, as required by state law.

Additionally, data from the state department's following dashboards were also impacted: Assault Weapon Registry, Handguns Certified for Sale, Dealer Record of Sale, Firearm Certificate Safety, and Gun Violence Restraining Order dashboards.

DOJ is asking that anyone who accessed this information "respect the privacy of the individuals involved and not share or disseminate any of the personal information." If you are in possession of or use of personal identifying information, it could be a crime.

The state agency is expected to provide credit monitoring services for anyone whose data was exposed because of the incident and will contact people who were impacted to provide instructions to sign up for the service.

Residents can also take the following steps to immediately protect their information related to credit:

  • Monitor your credit.

  • Consider placing a free credit freeze on your credit report. You can place a credit freeze by contacting each of the three major credit bureaus: Equifax: 888-766-0008, Experian: 888-397-3742, TransUnion: 800-680-7289

  • Place a fraud alert on your credit report. A fraud alert lasts 90 days and can be renewed.

If you are a victim of identity theft, call your local police department or sheriff’s department. You can also report identity theft and generate a recovery plan using the Federal Trade Commission’s website. For more information and resources visit the Attorney General’s website.

Sheyanne Romero is a journalist for the USA TODAY Network and manages content for the Salinas Californian.

This article originally appeared on Salinas Californian: Data breach threatens California concealed carry applicants

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