City of Vallejo

The City of Vallejo experienced a data breach on May 9, 2016, reported by the California Office of the Attorney General on September 29, 2016. The incident involved the accidental disclosure of a resident’s Social Security number (SSN) when employee salary data was shared with Transparent California, a public payroll transparency platform. The breach occurred due to improper handling of sensitive information, exposing personally identifiable data without authorization. While the exact number of affected individuals remains unknown, the exposure of an SSN poses significant risks, including potential identity theft, financial fraud, or misuse of personal information. The breach highlights lapses in data protection protocols, particularly in safeguarding confidential employee-related records. No evidence suggests malicious intent, such as hacking or ransomware, but the unintentional release of such critical data underscores vulnerabilities in the city’s administrative and disclosure processes.

Source: https://oag.ca.gov/ecrime/databreach/reports/sb24-64148

TPRM report: https://www.rankiteo.com/company/city-of-vallejo

"id": "cit248082125",
"linkid": "city-of-vallejo",
"type": "Breach",
"date": "5/2016",
"severity": "60",
"impact": "3",
"explanation": "Attack with significant impact with internal employee data leaks"

{'affected_entities': [{'customers_affected': 'Unknown (At Least 1 Resident)',
                        'industry': 'Public Administration',
                        'location': 'Vallejo, California, USA',
                        'name': 'City of Vallejo',
                        'type': 'Government (Municipal)'}],
 'data_breach': {'data_exfiltration': 'No (Accidental Disclosure to Third '
                                      'Party)',
                 'number_of_records_exposed': 'Unknown',
                 'personally_identifiable_information': 'Yes (SSN)',
                 'sensitivity_of_data': 'High (PII - SSN)',
                 'type_of_data_compromised': ['Social Security Number',
                                              'Employee Salary Information']},
 'date_detected': '2016-05-09',
 'date_publicly_disclosed': '2016-09-29',
 'description': 'The California Office of the Attorney General reported a data '
                'breach incident involving the City of Vallejo on September '
                '29, 2016. The breach occurred on May 9, 2016, due to the '
                "accidental disclosure of a resident's Social Security number "
                'when employee salary information was provided to Transparent '
                'California. The number of individuals affected is unknown.',
 'impact': {'brand_reputation_impact': 'Potential (Unknown Scale)',
            'data_compromised': ['Social Security Number'],
            'identity_theft_risk': 'High (SSN Exposed)'},
 'investigation_status': 'Reported (No Further Details)',
 'post_incident_analysis': {'root_causes': 'Human Error (Improper '
                                           'Redaction/Disclosure of Sensitive '
                                           'Data to Third Party)'},
 'references': [{'source': 'California Office of the Attorney General - Data '
                           'Breach Report (2016)'}],
 'regulatory_compliance': {'regulations_violated': ['Potential Violation of '
                                                    'California Civil Code § '
                                                    '1798.81.5 (Data Breach '
                                                    'Notification Law)'],
                           'regulatory_notifications': 'Reported to California '
                                                       'Office of the Attorney '
                                                       'General'},
 'response': {'communication_strategy': 'Public Disclosure via California AG '
                                        'Report'},
 'title': 'City of Vallejo Data Breach (2016)',
 'type': 'Data Breach (Accidental Disclosure)',
 'vulnerability_exploited': 'Human Error (Improper Data Handling)'}