According to Mashable, Ticketmaster is facing significant challenges following a massive data breach impacting millions of its customers. The personal data of 560 million Ticketmaster users has allegedly been exposed by a notorious hacker group called ShinyHunters.
The breach comes just a week after the U.S. Justice Department filed an antitrust lawsuit against Ticketmaster’s parent company, Live Nation Entertainment, seeking to dismantle its alleged monopoly over the live music and entertainment industry.
Cybersecurity outlets Hackread and Cyber Daily reported that ShinyHunters has claimed responsibility for the breach, with plans to sell the 1.3 terabyte-sized trove of data for $500,000 on a popular hacking forum.
In addition to customers’ full names, addresses, phone numbers, and email addresses, the stolen data reportedly includes order history, ticket purchase details, and partial payment data – most notably the last four digits of credit card numbers and card expiration dates.
The breach has been confirmed by Australia’s Home Affairs Department, describing it as a “cyber incident impacting Ticketmaster customers.” The exact method of the attack remains unclear, and Ticketmaster has yet to comment or confirm the claims made by the hackers.
ShinyHunters claims to have attempted to contact Ticketmaster regarding the breach but has yet to receive a response.
Ticketmaster has a history of cybersecurity issues. In 2020, the company paid $10 million to SongKick after unauthorized access to its competitor’s computers was obtained by individuals on Ticketmaster’s payroll.