Los Angeles Police Department Suffers Data Breach Exposing Private Data of 2500 Police Officers and 17,500 Applicants

• The exposed information includes the names, dates of birth, email addresses, passwords.
• This data breach has impacted nearly 2,500 LAPD officers and approximately 17,500 police officer applicants.

The Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD) became aware on July 25, 2019, that the personal information of police officers and applicants have been exposed.

What happened?

The Office of Mayor Eric Garcetti said in a statement that the data breach occurred due to an old database that is no longer used by the Personnel Department. The database contained the personal information of police officers and applicants which have been breached.

“We are investigating a data event that was discovered on July 25 and involved limited information about City of Los Angeles job applicants in a database that is no longer used by the Personnel Department. We take the protection of personal data very seriously, and the City has informed the individuals who may have been affected,” the statement read.

What was exposed?

• The exposed information includes the names, dates of birth, email addresses, passwords.
• This data breach has impacted nearly 2,500 LAPD officers and approximately 17,500 police officer applicants.

What actions have been taken?

• Upon discovery, the department worked with city partners to launch an investigation and determine the scope of the breach.
• LAPD is taking the necessary steps to ensure that the department’s data is protected from any further intrusions.
• The City’s IT department has implemented additional layers of security to prevent such incidents from happening in the future.

What was the response?

LAPD told BleepingComputer that they have notified the employees and individuals who are impacted by this incident.

“The Los Angeles Police Department is working with our city partners to better understand the extent and impact of this data breach. We are also taking steps to ensure the Department’s data is protected from any further intrusions. The employees and individuals who may have been affected by this incident have been notified and we will continue to update them as we progress through this investigation. Data security is paramount at the Los Angeles Police Department and we are committed to protecting the privacy of anyone who is associated with our agency,” LAPD told BleepingComputer.

The labor union for the Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD), Los Angeles Police Protective League stated that this is a serious security issue and requested the City of Los Angeles to investigate this and implement strong security measures.

“The data breach that exposed personal information of Los Angeles police officers and those applying to become police officers is a serious security issue for our members. We urge the City of Los Angeles to fully investigate this lapse in security and to put in place the strongest measures possible to avoid further breaches in the future. We call upon the city to provide the necessary resources and assistance to any impacted officer who may become the victim of identity theft as a result of this negligence so that they may restore their credit and/or financial standing.”