Data of millions of Australians potentially exposed in Ticketmaster hack

Ticketmaster’s reaction to the alleged hacking of millions of customers is worrying for one key reason, an expert says.

Ticketmaster’s silence on the data breach that has affected half a billion customers is “troubling”, an Australian cybersecurity expert says.

The dark web group Shiny Hunters claims to have stolen the personal data of 560 million people, which includes names, emails, addresses, phone numbers and the last four digits of credit card numbers.

It is not yet known if Australian customers have been caught up in the massive data breach.

Professor of cybersecurity at Monash University, Nigel Phair, said it was concerning that Ticketmaster has yet to publicly address the hacking incident.

“There are over five million Australian and New Zealand Ticketmaster account holders, they will be concerned about any loss of personal information, including names, addresses, passwords, credit card numbers and where this may end up,” Professor Phair said.

“Organisations need to be more proactive in their communications and inform the public what has happened and how they are remediating the situation.

“Consumers need to remain hyper-vigilant in the online world and be on the lookout for unusual emails, SMS or phone calls. They should also look for any suspicious credit card transactions.”

Hackers claims to have stolen the personal details of Live Nation and Ticketmaster customers. Picture: Getty Images

The hacker group claims it is trying to sell the information for $US500,000 on the dark web, which they say includes 1.3 terabytes of customer data.

Ticketmaster is a subsidiary of Live Nation, operating in 32 countries around the world.

US SUES TICKETMASTER

It come after the US government launched an extraordinary lawsuit against Live Nation

The US government is suing the world’s biggest live entertainment company to try and break it up, alleging it illegally monopolised the music industry and harmed both artists and fans.

The lawsuit was filed by the Department of Justice and 29 US states.

It took aim at the so-called “Ticketmaster tax” which whacked fans with multiple fees that dramatically increased the price of concert tickets, while also accusing Live Nation of pressuring artists to use its services and threatening and retaliating against its rivals.

The legal action could also sharpen the scrutiny of competition in Australia’s live music industry, where Live Nation also owns Ticketmaster and has been buying up ticketing agencies, festivals and concert venues.

The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) was watching the US legal action.

“We will monitor the case as it develops,” a spokeswoman said.

The Department of Justice’s sweeping probe came to light after Ticketmaster’s systems crashed during the sale of tickets for the US shows on Taylor Swift’s Eras Tour in late 2022.

Taylor Swift performs as The Eras Tour continues in Paris. Picture: Kevin Mazur /Getty Images for TAS Rights Management

Furious fans were left stranded in online queues for hours as the company’s website crashed, with the pop icon later saying it was “excruciating for me to just watch mistakes happen with no recourse”.

US Attorney General Merrick Garland – a self-proclaimed Swiftie who displays her CDs in his office and uses her lyrics in legal arguments – said in announcing the lawsuit: “It is time to break up Live Nation.”

The Department of Justice has filed a federal lawsuit that accuses Ticketmaster and its parent company Live Nation of illegally monopolising the live entertainment industry to the detriment of concertgoers and artists. Picture: AFP

“We allege that Live Nation relies on unlawful, anti-competitive conduct to exercise its monopolistic control over the live events industry in the United States at the cost of fans, artists, smaller promoters, and venue operators,” he said.

“The result is that fans pay more in fees, artists have fewer opportunities to play concerts, smaller promoters get squeezed out, and venues have fewer real choices for ticketing services.”

US Attorney General Merrick Garland. Picture: Kent Nishimura /Getty Images via AFP

Court documents filed by the Department of Justice said Live Nation controlled 80 per cent of primary ticketing across major US concert venues through Ticketmaster, while also owning or controlling at least 265 venues and managing more than 400 artists.

Live Nation’s executive vice president Dan Wall claimed the “absurd” action was the result of “intense political pressure” and would not reduce ticket prices or service fees.

“It ignores everything that is actually responsible for higher ticket prices, from increasing production costs to artist popularity, to 24/7 online ticket scalping that reveals the public’s willingness to pay far more than primary tickets cost,” he said in a statement.

Live Nation claims the legal action is the result of political pressure. Picture: AFP

Live Nation’s merger with Ticketmaster in the US was approved by the Obama administration in 2010.

But US President Joe Biden’s top trade official Lina Khan said in late 2022 that the fiasco over tickets to Swift’s tour “converted more Gen Z’ers into anti-monopolists overnight than anything I could have done”.

Originally published as Data of millions of Australians potentially exposed in Ticketmaster hack