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The Riverside County Sheriff’s Department is aware of the release of personal information from the California Department of Justice (DOJ) involving all individuals that applied for a permit to carry a concealed weapon in our county between 2011-2021. Although we did not have any control over the information released, this data leak is concerning to us and we take it very seriously. The California State Sheriff’s Association (CSSA) has published a media report notifying everyone who has applied for a concealed carry weapon permit of the breach of personal data and the efforts to ensure an alarming incident like this does not happen again. It was learned that the data breach was in conjunction with DOJ’s launch of its “2022 Firearms Dashboard Portal”, which has since been deactivated. This public portal was supposed to only allow access to limited information; however, names, address, birthdates, and other personal information of CCW applicants and permit holders were somehow also released. The information was available on the portal for less than 24 hours before DOJ was notified of the data breach, but enough time for the information to be copied and posted on the internet for others to see.

We encourage everyone who was granted or denied a concealed carry weapons permit in Riverside County between 2011-2021, and has concerns for the release of their personal information, to contact the California Department of Justice at one of the contacts listed here . The DOJ has issued an official statement, which can be found on their website.

The Riverside County Sheriff’s Department is demanding a detailed and thorough investigation of the DOJ to determine the cause and reason this information was publicly released. The safety and security of our community members is our highest priority and we are committed to holding DOJ accountable by demanding reassurance and a prevention plan that our citizens will not be endangered by future criminal or negligent data leaks.

If you are the victim of identity theft believed to be a direct result of this data breach, we encourage you to make a report and generate a recovery plan using the Federal Trade Commission’s website at identitytheft.gov. For more information and resources. visit the Department of Justice-Attorney General’s identity theft webpage.

For media inquiries regarding this incident please contact the Media Information Bureau.

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These principles reinforce VA’s standards of data privacy and protection maintained during VA’s distribution of nearly 2 million COVID-19 vaccinations to date, and other critical health care services during the coronavirus pandemic.

“VA’s principle-based ethics framework takes a proactive approach to data management and privacy by setting standards for our partners to follow,” says Acting VA Under Secretary for Health Richard Stone, M.D. “VA is applying this framework to all data interoperability initiatives, including those tied to our COVID-19 response and modernization efforts.” Having clearly defined integrities for everyone who accesses or uses Veteran data puts VA at the forefront of organizational responsibility for ethical data practices.

Veterans trust VA to promote and respect their privacy, confidentiality and autonomy within the services the department provides and supports. The department will continue to uphold that trust by remaining consistent with VA’s I-CARE values of integrity, commitment, advocacy, respect and excellence to promote and ensure responsible practices whenever Veteran data is accessed or used.

The ethics framework was developed by the Data Ethics Work Group established by the VA Interoperability Leadership team and the Veterans Health Administration’s (VHA) National Center for Ethics in Health Care, along with input from Veterans.

The department is actively working to ensure all VA directives, policies and standards reflect these principles which the agency anticipates completing by the end of 2022.

Learn more about VA’s COVID-19 vaccination response and how VHA’s National Center for Ethics in Health Care continues to work proactively to build trust in managing access and use of Veteran data.

va.gov • Contributed

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