QUICK HITS: STATE
SACRAMENTO Data breach exposes thousands of California state employees
A former California state employee downloaded sensitive personal information about tthousands of fellow workers, potentially exposing them to identity theft, according to state officials.
The information included Social Security numbers for Department of Fish and Wildlife employees and contractors, The Sacramento Bee reported Friday.
The breach was discovered before Christmas but wasn’t disclosed until this week.
The California Highway Patrol is investigating, the department said in a memo to employees, but it said the former employee did not appear to have had malicious intent. It did not say if investigators believe criminals might have accessed the data.
The department did not say why the former employee downloaded the information to an unsecured device or network.
A department memo says the data includes the names and Social Security numbers of employees who worked at the department and the California Wildlife Conservation Board in 2007. It included personal information for vendors who worked with the department and board between 2007 and 2010.
About 2,300 people worked for the department in 2007.
LOS ANGELES More than 200 arrests in Los Angeles area immigration sweep
More than 200 people were arrested for violating immigration laws and numerous businesses were told they would be audited during a five-day sweep in the Los Angeles area, the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency said Friday.
The raids triggered a protest late Thursday by a small group of immigrant advocates who prevented a Homeland Security van from moving outside the federal Metropolitan Detention Center in downtown Los Angeles. Police issued a dispersal order but no one was arrested.
A statement from the agency said that 88 percent of the 212 people arrested in the sweep were convicted criminals. Some will be prosecuted for illegal entry or re-entry into the U.S. and others will be administratively processed for deportation, immediately removed or held for immigration court hearings.