A group of hackers dubbed "ShinyHackers" claim to have stolen the personal and financial information of over half a billion Ticketmaster and Live Nation users, putting the data up for sale on the dark web for $500,000.
ShinyHackers allege that they now have access to over 1.3 terabytes worth of 560 million customers' "full details" such as names, addresses, emails, phone numbers and credit card numbers. Other information includes "ticket sales, event information, order details." The group is reportedly selling the data on Breach Forums.
ShinyHackers previously wreaked havoc on Australian consumers when they leaked the data of 193,000 Pizza Hut customers in 2023. The hackers have taken credit for breaching databases at Microsoft, Mashable, Wattpad, AT&T and more.
Mark Lukie, tapped by ABC AU, explained that the Ticketmaster hack could greatly impact Australian customers.
"This could mean the potential risk of identity fraud and we would assume this data would be used for phishing or impersonation attacks down the track," he said. Phishing is a popular way for bad actors to acquire important information through fraudulent solicitations online.
He advised that users should be "very vigilant about their email and who they're responding to and not giving out any information to people trying to trick them."
"From a commercial standpoint it's making [hackers] lots of money, and the more data these organizations have, the more they become a target for these criminal organizations," Lukie added.
The Australian Department of Home Affairs reported that it is "working with Ticketmaster to understand the incident."
Ticketmaster faced another set of hackers in 2018, impacting 40,000 customers in the United Kingdom. The Information Commissioner's Office then fined Ticketmaster UK £1.25m for its failure to protect consumers' information.
In the United States, Ticketmaster and Live Nation have been sued by the Department of Justice for violating antitrust laws. The DOJ claims that the ticket giants have unlawfully monopolized the ticketing and live event industry, leading costs to skyrocket and competing businesses to flop.
Ticketmaster and Live Nation merged in 2010, becoming the "largest live entertainment company in the world." The merger was challenged by lawmakers, including Senate Majority Leader Charles Schumer (D-NY), who stated that the merger would "give a giant, new entity unrivaled power over concertgoers and the prices they pay to see their favorite artists and bands."
Ticketmaster has been accused of unfair practices in the ticketing industry since the 1990s, when Pearl Jam claimed that Ticketmaster has a "virtually absolute monopoly on the distribution of tickets to concerts."
Live Nation faced another recent flop when its website flailed during a special $25 ticket deal.
Over 5,000 events by 900 artists offered the elusive, cheap price, but users reported that ticketing pages crashed frequently or failed to load at all.
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