Ticketmaster is alerting customers within the United States, Mexico and Canada to a knowledge breach affecting account holders' personal information, banking details and encrypted bank cards.
In the e-mail “Notification of Data Breach” and a web based article entitled “Ticketmaster data security incident”, Ticketmaster states that the unauthorized activity occurred between April 2 and May 18.
The company said it learned of the information breach on May 23 in an “isolated cloud database hosted by a third-party data services provider.” The company didn’t disclose the name of that third-party provider.
The New York Times reported at the top of May that the information theft claimed by the hacking group ShinyHunters affected greater than 500 million Ticketmaster customers. ShinyHunters has claimed responsibility for data thefts at Microsoft and AT&T, in addition to dozens of other corporations, the Times reported, citing federal prosecutors.
The company stated that the information theft affected basic customer information equivalent to name, date of birth, bank details, bank card numbers and expiration dates. The company didn’t disclose in the e-mail or the notice how many shoppers were affected by the information theft.
“We take data privacy very seriously and work with appropriate authorities, including law enforcement, as well as credit card companies and banks,” Ticketmaster said in its online post.
The company said its accounts “remain secure.”
Ticketmaster said customers who didn’t receive a letter by email or first-class post were unlikely to be amongst those affected by the information breach. Customers who did receive a letter or email are advised to watch their banking details, change their passwords and consider a 12 months of free “identity monitoring”.
The same day Ticketmaster learned of the information breach, the U.S. Department of Justice and 30 state and district attorneys general filed an antitrust lawsuit against the corporate and its parent company, Live Nation Entertainment. The sweeping criticism accused the businesses of operating an illegal monopoly on live events in America – stifling competition and driving up prices for fans.
The aim of the lawsuit is to interrupt up the alleged monopoly, which the federal government believes harms smaller organizers, artists and fans.
Live Nation has long denied violating antitrust laws and said on May 23 that the lawsuit “will not resolve issues important to fans related to ticket pricing, service fees and access to in-demand shows.”
Ticketmaster merged with Live Nation in 2010 and have become the world's largest ticket seller.
In recent weeks, more details have emerged about one other major data breach affecting AT&T customers.
A cyberattack on the telecommunications giant in 2022 exposed the information of “almost all” of its customers, the corporate said on July 12. The attack didn’t affect the content of calls or text messages, AT&T said.
“We have taken steps to shut down the illegal access point,” AT&T said in a press release. The company said it’s working with law enforcement to discover everyone involved and one person has been arrested.
The compromised data included files containing recordings of calls and text messages from greater than 100 million mobile and landline customers from May 2022 to October 2022. Recordings from January 2, 2023, were also compromised for a small number of shoppers, the corporate said, but didn’t provide specific details.
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