California gun data breach exposes personal info linked to 10 years of concealed carry permits

[ripcord]

Source: KCRA3

Personal information for Californians who were granted or denied a concealed and carry weapons permit over a period of 10 years, as well as the personal information of people associated with several other gun dashboards, was disclosed online this week, the state's Department of Justice confirmed.

DOJ said it is reaching out to those whose data was exposed and will provide credit monitoring services.

The data breach left the unauthorized information accessible to the public for "less than 24 hours" in connection with an update of the state's 2022 update of its Firearms Dashboard Portal on Monday afternoon.

The information included names, date of birth, gender, race, driver's license numbers, addresses and criminal history for those who were granted or denied a concealed and carry weapons permit between 2011 to 2021, California's DOJ said. It did not include social security or financial information.

These other dashboards were also affected: Assault Weapon Registry, Handguns Certified for Sale, Dealer Record of Sale, Firearm Certificate Safety and Gun Violence Restraining Order. The extent of the breach on those dashboards is not yet known.

Read more: https://www.kcra.com/article/california-data-breach-exposes-personal-info-for-concealed-carry-permit-holders-sheriffs-office-says/40462232

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There is already talk of lawsuits, perhaps even a class action since gun owners are convinced the DOJ released the information on purpose so soon after the SCOTUS decision on conceal carry that affects California's permitting process.

[Liberty Belle]

1. This is bad. So judges, cops, domestic violence victims with concealed carry permits are all at risk

now of being stalked and harmed, with their home addresses revealed.

And everyone in the database is at risk of identity theft, since this includes driver's license numbers.

Plus an update today clarifies this is worse than first thought. It includes data on everyone in the last 10 years who applied for a concealed carry permit, whether it was granted or denied.

[Liberty Belle]

4. Good point. It also puts gun owners at risk of theft,

since thieves often target homes of gun collectors to sell them on the black market.

[PTWB]

10. It's even worse than that.

If a stalker or abuser checks the list for their victim and they’re not on there at all, chances are they’re unarmed.

The abusers who were able to discover their victim is armed will simply not allow their victim a chance to fight back with that knowledge.

People will die because of this breach and there are folks on this thread who say “good.”

[MicaelS]

2. No doubt this was deliberate.n/t

[maxsolomon]

13. Did you read the article?

What makes you think it was deliberate? Gut feeling?

[The Magistrate]

5. Good

It ought to be public knowledge who carries concealed weapons, or has attempted to and been barred from doing so. Just like I want to know if the person moving in next door molests children, or a new hire is a thief. It's a matter of public safety. I will make my own judgement regarding the weight I give the information, but I want it, and it ought to be public. I damned sure want to know if the guy down the block prances about with a pistol under his shirt-tail.

[ruet]

6. How About Those Who Live In A State That Has Banned Abortion...

and crossed states lines to get one in a state that hasn't? I'm sure all the fundamentalists in Louisiana would damn sure like to know who violated their laws to have the procedure.

[sarisataka]

7. Have you considered

The women who have escaped abusive relationships and may have applied for permits? They must now consider that their ex now knows where they live. Also the abuser would have knowledge if they had a permit or were denied because their special circumstances weren't adequate to receive a permit.

[discntnt_irny_srcsm]

8. As someone else has replied to me...

...consider it the price of freedom.

[PTWB]

9. This was intentional and is a complete disaster.

They compiled all of the information into a database and then connected that database to a public facing portal. Then the CA attorney general sent out a press release touting that they were releasing the information to the public in the interest of research, science, and transparency.

Just because there was extreme backlash and releasing the data may turn out to have been a violation of California law does not make it a “breach” or a “leak.”

These folks were intentionally doxxed. How many victims of domestic violence had their new address published? How about stalkers / abusers using this list to see if their victim is armed or not? If they’re not on the list, chances are they’re unarmed.

The backlash from this will be extreme. This incident will be the poster child that the gun rights movement uses for many, many years to show that the government should not be trusted to maintain a database or registry of firearm owners.

I cannot overstate how big of a disaster this was for those of us who would like to pass common sense gun control.

What a nightmare.

[maxsolomon]

12. It was a breach. The Portal is for internal government use.

It was part of an update, and they fucked it up, found out they fucked up, and took the whole thing offline as soon as they did.

The data breach left the unauthorized information accessible to the public for "less than 24 hours" in connection with an update of the state's 2022 update of its Firearms Dashboard Portal on Monday afternoon.

Bonta's office said Wednesday that on Monday afternoon DOJ had posted updates to the portal and that's when the data was disclosed.

"DOJ was made aware of a disclosure of personal information that was accessible in a spreadsheet on the portal," the statement said. "After DOJ learned of the data exposure, the department took steps to remove the information from public view and shut down the Firearms Dashboard yesterday morning."

[PTWB]

14. Hmmm

That’s not what the press release from the CA AG said.

Attorney General Bonta Releases New Firearms Data to Increase Transparency and Information Sharing

June 27th, 2022


SACRAMENTO — California Attorney General today announced new and updated firearms data available through the California Department of Justice (DOJ)’s 2022 Firearms Dashboard Portal. The dashboard is accessible though DOJ’s OpenJustice Data Platform. The announcement will improve transparency and information sharing for firearms-related data and includes broad enhancements to the platform to help the public access data on firearms in California, including information about the issuance of Concealed Carry Weapons (CCW) permits and Gun Violence Restraining Orders (GVROs).

“Transparency is key to increasing public trust between law enforcement and the communities we serve,” said Attorney General Bonta. “As news of tragic mass shootings continue to dominate the news cycle, leaving many with feelings of fear and uncertainty, we must do everything we can to prevent gun violence. One of my continued priorities is to better provide information needed to help advance efforts that strengthen California’s commonsense gun laws. Today’s announcement puts power and information into the hands of our communities by helping them better understand the role and potential dangers of firearms within our state.”

[maxsolomon]

15. Could be that some of the update intended to make information public-facing

But not all of it?

Regardless, it wasn't up for long, so the question is who even knew about it to access it?

[PTWB]

17. We will know eventually

There will be lawsuits and FOIA requests out the wazoo to shed some light on this snafu.

[sl8]

18. It was up long enough to be copied and posted on the interrnet.

CSSA [ California State Sheriff’s Association ]said that at least some information associated with the breach has been copied and posted on the internet.

[sl8]

16. I believe you're mistaken about the portal being for internal use.

They announced that the "Dashboard" was publicly accessible and provided a link.

I assume they didn't plan to make all the personal info available publicly, but the portal itself was intended for public use.