Ticketmaster’s Owner Confirms Data Breach of 560 Million Users After 11 Days

Live Nation Confirms Data Breach of Ticketmaster’s User Database

Live Nation Entertainment has verified a data breach at Ticketmaster, its ticket sales service, 11 days after identifying the incident. A database, amassing 560 million Ticketmaster users and 1.3 terabytes in size, was put on sale for $500,000 by the hacker group ShinyHunters. Despite initiating an investigation and collaborating with law enforcement, Live Nation remains confident that this incident will not affect its financial standing.

Details of Ticketmaster User Data Leak

For a week, the personal details of 560 million Ticketmaster users, including names, home addresses, emails, phone numbers, and bank card numbers were being traded on hacking forums. It was not until Friday night that Live Nation, Ticketmaster’s parent company, admitted to the data leak. To date, the only official communication confirming the data breach was a statement from the Australian police, indicating their collaboration with the company to investigate the circumstances.

Live Nation Responds to the Data Breach

Live Nation, previously in the spotlight due to ticketing complaints from Taylor Swift fans and a U.S. Department of Justice antitrust lawsuit, confirmed detecting unauthorised activity in a third-party cloud-based database on May 20. The company promptly began an investigation, involving leading cybersecurity experts.

By May 27, the stolen user data was listed for sale on the darknet. Live Nation initiated measures to mitigate risks to its users and started collaborating with law enforcement. The company also notified regulatory authorities and users about the unauthorized access to personal information.

Potential Impacts and Corporate Response

Live Nation has not released specific information about the breach, including the number of users affected and the steps being taken to address the issue. However, according to cybersecurity experts Hudson Rock, the wrongdoers might have hacked into the company’s account on the Snowflake cloud storage, and possibly others as well. Regardless, Live Nation maintains that the incident will not impact its financial status and operational results, a compelling argument considering the company’s previous monopoly allegations.