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FRESNO, Calif. (KSEE/KPGE) — The names, addresses, and license types of every Concealed Carry Weapons (CCW) permit holder in California were exposed as part of a data breach suffered by the state Department of Justice, according to the Fresno County Sheriff’s Office.
Officials say the California State Sheriff’s Association informed the Fresno County Sheriff’s Office about the data breach impacting those with a permit to carry a concealed weapon, which followed the publication of the state’s 2022 Firearms Dashboard Portal on Monday. At the time, state officials described it as improving “transparency and information sharing for firearms-related data.”
Sheriff’s Office officials say the information released included the CCW holders’ name, age, address, Criminal Identification Index (CII) number and license type (Standard, Judicial, Reserve and Custodial). The information included every CCW holder in the state.
In response to the information being released, Fresno County officials say the state disabled access to the website hosting the data — but there are concerns that the information was copied and remains in circulation on social media and other parts of the internet. It is unknown how long the information was publicly accessible on the Department of Justice’s website.
Officials add that the State Attorney General’s Office is working to determine the size of the breach and it plans to contact the CCW holders directly to advise them of the situation.
The Fresno County Sheriff’s Office asks that anyone who is aware that their identity was compromised as a result of the data breach to file an online report.
In a statement, the California Department of Justice wrote that it is investigating an exposure of individuals’ personal information connected to the DOJ Firearms Dashboard, adding that “any unauthorized release of personal information is unacceptable.”
