Ticketmaster confirms data hack – 560 million users could be affected

Ticketmaster has been the subject of a cyber attack, with hackers allegedly offering to sell customer data on the dark web, its parent company Live Nation has confirmed. Hacking group ShinyHunters is reportedly demanding around £400,000 in ransom to prevent the data being sold.

The group gained access to the names, addresses, phone numbers and partial payment details of 560 million of the site’s customers, it was reported. In a filing with the US Securities and Exchange Commission on Friday, Live Nation said: “On May 20, 2024, Live Nation Entertainment, Inc. identified unauthorized activity in a third-party cloud database environment containing company data (primarily from Ticketmaster LLC. subsidiary) and launched an investigation with industry-leading forensic investigators to understand what happened.

“On May 27, 2024, a criminal threat actor offered what it claimed to be company user data for sale via the dark web. We are working to reduce the risk to our users and the Company and have notified and are cooperating with law enforcement.

“As appropriate, we also notify regulatory authorities and users of unauthorized access to personal information.”

The company added: “As of the date of presentation, the incident has not had, and we do not believe is reasonably likely to have, a material impact on our overall business operations or our financial condition or results of operations. We continue to assess the risks and our remediation efforts are ongoing.”

According to reports, authorities in Australia and the US are engaging with Ticketmaster to understand and respond to the incident. The online ticketing platform and Live Nation have been contacted for comment.

Santander suffered a similar data breach this week, with the bank confirming on Friday that hackers accessed data relating to all of its staff and millions of overseas customers.