California DOJ exposed concealed carry permit seekers’ personal info. Here’s what you can do.

A statewide data breach this week exposed the personal information of Californians who have applied for permits to carry firearms in public.

The leak, announced by the California Department of Justice Wednesday, revealed the name, date of birth, gender, race, driver’s license number, addresses and criminal history of those who were granted or denied a concealed and carry weapons permit between 2011 and 2021.

The Department said the data was exposed for less than 24 hours. The agency urged those whose information was revealed to monitor their credit history and consider placing a security freeze on their credit report, blocking potential creditors from access. DOJ also recommended placing a fraud alert on the report, signaling lenders or creditors that you may have been defrauded.

“This unauthorized release of personal information is unacceptable and falls far short of my expectations for this department,” said Attorney General Rob Bonta in a Wednesday afternoon statement. “I immediately launched an investigation into how this occurred at the California Department of Justice and will take strong corrective measures where necessary.”

The exposure occurred while the Department was posting updates to the Firearms Dashboard Portal, and the information was accessible via a spreadsheet on the portal.

The Department shut down the dashboard Wednesday morning. It will reach out to those whose information was exposed, and will provide credit monitoring services as needed.

“DOJ asks that anyone who accessed such information respect the privacy of the individuals involved and not share or disseminate any of the personal information,” the Department wrote in the Wednesday release. “In addition, possession of or use of personal identifying information for an unlawful purpose may be a crime.”

The breach comes as California’s concealed and carry weapons permit system faces heightened scrutiny. A Supreme Court decision last week declared the state’s practice of requiring prospective permit-holders to show “good cause” was unconstitutional. Now, the Legislature is working to pass legislation that would blunt the consequences of the decision.

This story was originally published June 29, 2022 at 3:06 PM.