HackingGovernmentGovernmentStolen CredentialsEmployee Data InvolvedIdentity (basic)Government IDHealth (basic)MediumContained

Department of Toxic Substances Control

bd_b1660651a7b77e27 · schema v1 · pii pii-v1

Severity

Medium

Discovered

Mar 10, 2023

Filed

Mar 23, 2023

To disclose

13 days

Affected

Not disclosed

Confidence

65%

Full breach record for Department of Toxic Substances Control →

On March 10, 2023, the California Department of Toxic Substances Control (DTSC) discovered a compromised email account. An external threat actor briefly gained unauthorized access to the account. While no files were downloaded, the attacker may have viewed emails containing employees' names, Social Security Numbers, Driver's License Numbers, and medical information. DTSC immediately cut off access to the mailbox and limited inbox access to appropriate staff. The incident is contained.

J jump to incidentP pin to compareR raw source

California clockDiscovered Mar 10, 2023 → Notified Mar 20, 202310d ✓ CA 60-day OK13 days discovery → filing

Incident timeline

discovery → filing · 13 days

Mar 10, 2023

Begins

Mar 10, 2023

Discovered

Mar 23, 2023

Filed

vs. sector median

9 wks faster

Tracked as a single-filing incident — the only disclosure on record for this event so far.ConfirmedView incident

Name: Department of Toxic Substances Control
norm: department of toxic substances control
Domain: dtsc.ca.gov

Name: Department of Toxic Substances Control
norm: department of toxic substances control
Domain: dtsc.ca.gov
Industry: Governmentllm

Discovered: Mar 10, 2023
Breach occurred: Mar 10, 2023
Undetected for: 0 daysoccurrence → discovery
Materiality determined: —
Notification sent: Mar 20, 2023
Affected individuals: Not disclosed
Data types: Identity (basic)Government IDHealth (basic)
Data elements: Social Security numberMedical information
Attack vector: Unauthorized Access
MITRE ATT&CK: T1078 Valid AccountsT1114 Email Collection
Threat actor: External
Initial access: valid_credentials

During the incident: Cut off access to the e-mail box in question
Ensured that access to the inbox was limited only to the appropriate DTSC staff
Changes made: Working on process improvements that can be implemented to eliminate the risk of this type of incident occurring in the future
Source: Quoted from the filing itself, not independently verified.

Time to disclose: 13 days(13 days from discovery to filing)
Compliance flags: CA 60-day OK · 10d
Discovery-date grounding: letter-groundedThe discovery date is the detection date narrated in the notification letter — the defensible tier.
Clock breakdown: Statute Window Elapsed Threshold Status
California
Discovered: Mar 10, 2023
→ Notified: Mar 20, 2023
10d 60 days (analyst band, pre-2026 discoveries) CA 60-day OK

Statute	Window	Elapsed	Threshold	Status
California	Discovered: Mar 10, 2023 → Notified: Mar 20, 2023	10d	60 days (analyst band, pre-2026 discoveries)	CA 60-day OK

Status: No extraction artifact recorded for this disclosure.

Evidence ladder

Leak-site claim

Attacker assertion only. Establishes: claim date, group, alleged victim.

Press / market report

Unlocks: incident narrative, operational impact. Still no compliance clock.

State AG / regulator filingThis record

Unlocks: discovery date, data types, affected count, compliance clock.

SEC 8-K / victim statement

Unlocks: materiality, stated response, full audit trail. Ceiling removed.

Source URL: https://oag.ca.gov/ecrime/databreach/reports/sb24-564680
DisclosureLens links to the originating regulator URL — full filing bodies are not redistributed from public surfaces (§4.5).
Filed at: Mar 23, 2023
Raw hash: 66bdeec1372e7b6274c5327f0abeb356ab9d0aed87f0391ab577ddab511c0857

Reporting entityDepartment of Toxic Substances Control

Victim entityDepartment of Toxic Substances Control

Incidentdiscovered Mar 10, 2023

Stated responseCut off access to the e-mail box in question

ComplianceCA 60-day OK

Extraction provenanceno artifact recorded

Source provenanceoag.ca.gov