How serious is Ticketmaster's alleged violation?

Ticketmaster has not confirmed the data breach, but Australian authorities and the FBI are investigating the incident.

The data of 560 million people may have been affected by a breach at Ticketmaster, but the details remain unclear.

The Australian government recently said it was investigating allegations that a hacking group stole the information of nearly 560 million Ticketmaster users. The country's National Cyber ​​Security Office is engaging with Ticketmaster to “understand the incident” and the US FBI has offered to help, RTÉ reports.

This investigation began after a hacking group called ShinyHunters posted an offer on a dark web forum, offering to sell the batch of data for $500,000. It's unclear whether this dataset is real, and Ticketmaster did not respond to a request for comment on the breach.

ShinyHunters is not a new entity in the world of cybercrime and has been linked to several high-profile data breaches since 2020. Meanwhile, Ticketmaster and its parent company Live Nation Entertainment are facing a civil antitrust suit in the United States for allegedly thwarting competition in the live arena. entertainment industry.

What does the stolen data contain?

Hackers say the data contains personal information about 560 million Ticketmaster customers, including names, addresses, emails and phone numbers. The data also includes certain payment card information, such as credit card expiration dates, the last four digits of the card, and the names of cardholders.

It is unclear whether the hackers sold data at the time of publication or whether the goal is to only sell it in one batch.

What can this data be used for?

If the violation is real, the consequences could be lasting for affected customers. Jake Moore, global cybersecurity advisor at ESET, said the effects on customers can range from identity theft to financial fraud.

“As sensitive information is now for sale, affected individuals should remain very cautious, change their passwords and avoid follow-up emails, text messages and calls pretending to be from companies and requesting information,” Moore said.

Ani Chaudhuri, co-founder and CEO of Dasera, advised affected customers to “take immediate action” by monitoring their financial accounts for suspicious activity, changing their Ticketmaster account passwords and enabling authentication multifactorial when possible.

“It is also essential to be vigilant against phishing attempts, as hackers often use the leaked information to create more elaborate and convincing scams,” Chaudhuri said. “This proactive approach puts you in control of your security rather than relying on the company.”

Learn how emerging technology trends are shaping tomorrow with our new podcast, Future Human: The Series. Listen now on Spotifyon Apple or wherever you get your podcasts.