Ticketmaster Was Reportedly Hacked — and 560 Million Customers May Be Affected The data is reportedly for sale for $500,000.
By Emily Rella
Opinions expressed by BIZ Experiences contributors are their own.
In a massive security breach, Ticketmaster was allegedly hacked, and 560 million customers have reportedly been affected. It is not yet clear when the alleged crime occurred.
The hacking group ShinyHunters claims that they stole personal information including names, addresses, credit card numbers, and customer phone numbers — and the team is willing to sell the entire data set for $500,000.
Though Ticketmaster has not publicly addressed the hack, according to HackRead.com, ShinyHunters says they have attempted to contact Ticketmaster to get a response.
The breach mainly affected customers in Australia though Ticketmaster is based in Los Angeles. It's estimated that Ticketmaster has an average of 113.6 million monthly average users globally.
"The Australian Government is aware of a cyber incident impacting Ticketmaster," a spokesperson for the Australia Home Affairs Department told CBS News in a statement. "The National Office of Cyber Security is engaging with Ticketmaster to understand the incident."
Related: Justice Department continues suit against Live Nation-Ticketmaster
A spokesperson for the U.S. Embassy in Canberra, Australia said that the FBI is offering to help the Australian government with the investigation, per CBS.
Last week, the U.S. Justice Department filed a federal lawsuit against Ticketmaster and parent company Live Nation in the Southern District of New York accusing the company of illegally monopolizing the ticket vendor and entertainment industry and preventing fair competition.
Related: How a Ticket Reselling Side Hustle Brings in $30K a Month
This was, in part, brought on by the 2022 ticket fiasco during sales for Taylor Swift's "The Eras Tour" — public sales were suddenly canceled for certain shows, presale codes didn't work, and technical difficulties and high wait times in the virtual waiting rooms plagued the experience.
In January 2023, Ticketmaster said the issue was scalper and bot-related.
