Leak of California gun owners’ private data far wider than originally reported

An investigation has been ordered into the exposure which affects those who were granted or denied a concealed carry permit

The California department of justice admitted it had exposed the personal information of as many as hundreds of thousands of gun owners in the state, in a controversial data breach that appears of a far broader scale than the agency first reported.

The data breach temporarily made public the names, birthdates, gender, race, driver's license numbers, addresses and criminal histories of people who were granted or denied permits to carry concealed weapons between 2011 and 2021. The state's Assault Weapon Registry, Handguns Certified for Sale, Dealer Record of Sale, Firearm Certificate Safety and Gun Violence Restraining Order dashboards were also affected, the department said.