Data breach involving California gun owners includes Fresno County CCW permit holders

The Fresno County Sheriff’s Office reported a data breach late Tuesday afternoon involving California gun owners also affected Fresno County.

The California State Sheriff’s Association was told that the California Department of Justice (DOJ) suffered a data breach to its “2022 Firearms Dashboard Portal” on Monday.

Those who have a concealed permit in California could have their personal information exposed to hackers.

“This includes, but is not limited to a person’s name, age, address, Criminal Identification Index (CII) number and license type (Standard, Judicial, Reserve and Custodial). This pertains to all California CCW holders, including Fresno County residents,” officials said.

The DOJ pulled down the dashboard site along with all related links, but some private information may have been posted on social media websites.

It is not known how much information was accessible.

Officials added the State Attorney General’s Office has stated it is working with urgency to determine the breach and plans to contact CCW holders directly to advise them of the breach and “will institute a program to reduce any harm or damages to CCW holders that resulted from the breach.”

State Attorney General Rob Bonta’s office acknowledged the breach in a prepared statement.

“We are investigating an exposure of individuals’ personal information connected to the DOJ Firearms Dashboard,” the statement said. “Any unauthorized release of personal information is unacceptable. We are working swiftly to address this situation and will provide additional information as soon as possible.”

The sheriff’s office urges anyone who learns their identity was compromised as a result of this data breach to please make an online report by visiting https://www.fresnosheriff.org/report-a-crime-online.html