Ticketmaster is a household name. It’s a common way to buy tickets for concerts and live shows, but it’s been getting a lot of attention lately, and for not the best of reasons.
First, there was last year’s Taylor Swift controversy, where millions of fans trying to buy tickets overwhelmed the system, causing website crashes, long wait times and widespread frustration among fans, and then there was the recent Department of Justice lawsuit against owner Live Nation.
Now the company is in the news again for a massive data breach, affecting half a billion consumers. Here’s what you need to know about the Ticketmaster data breach and how to protect yourself from other major corporate data breaches in the future.
To get security alerts and expert tips, sign up for Kurt’s newsletter, The Cyberguy Report.
Hacker on computer. (Kurt “Cyberguy” Knutson)
What happened with the Ticketmaster breach?
Recently, the US Department of Justice filed an antitrust lawsuit against Ticketmaster, aiming to break up the monopoly that its parent company, Live Nation Entertainment, allegedly holds in the live music industry. But that was just the beginning. Amid this legal turmoil, the Australian Department of Home Affairs is said to be the first to uncover a new cyber incident.
A cyber-breach hacker group known as ShinyHunters claims to have stolen information including names, addresses, phone numbers, and even payment data for over 500 million customers. Not only that, but they are reportedly selling this 1.3 terabyte cache of data on a popular hacking forum. The group is also responsible for the Mashable breach in 2020.
Hacker typing on keyboard. (Kurt “Cyberguy” Knutson)
Over 500,000 ROKU accounts compromised in second cybersecurity breach
What is Ticketmaster doing about this?
For now, Ticketmaster hasn’t released any specific details about how it plans to address this particular breach, but this may not come as much of a surprise to past Ticketmaster customers, who may have felt the company hasn’t been very transparent.
I also reached out to Live Nation’s director of media relations for a response but had not heard back at the time of publishing.
What is Artificial Intelligence (AI)?
Not only had they not released a statement at the time of publication, despite our request, but they also had not responded to ShinyHunters’ attempts to contact them after acknowledging the cyberattack.
While it may be too early to tell, historically, in response to a cybersecurity incident, companies typically:
- Investigate the breach: Conduct a thorough investigation to understand how the breach occurred and what data was affected.
- Strengthening security measures: Implement stronger security protocols to prevent future breaches.
- Notify affected customers: Notifying customers whose data has been breached and providing guidance on steps they can take to protect themselves.
- Cooperate with authorities: We work with law enforcement and cybersecurity experts to track down perpetrators and prevent further incidents.
- Providing support services: Providing resources, such as credit monitoring services, to help affected customers protect their personal information.
Further details about Ticketmaster’s response, and any additional steps the company may take, are expected to be communicated via official channels in the coming days.
Ticketmaster website. (Ticketmaster)
How to Eliminate Robocalls with App and Data Removal Services
How to know if you’ve been affected by a breach
With 500 million people affected by this breach and Ticketmaster still not taking action, you may be wondering if your information was exposed. It can be hard to know for sure if you were affected, but here are some ways to check: Breaches happen every day, so it never hurts to check.
1. Check your notifications: Keep an eye out for official communication from Ticketmaster informing you if your data has been breached.
2. Monitor your account: Check your bank and credit card accounts for any unusual activity and be extremely wary of any transactions you do not recognize.
3. Check your email: Pay attention to emails about password changes, account updates, or login attempts that you didn’t initiate.
How to protect yourself from similar data breaches in the future
To protect yourself from similar data breaches, consider these cybersecurity measures:
Use strong, unique passwords: Create complex, unique passwords for each of your accounts. Using a password manager can help you manage your passwords. Password Manager Generate and store complex passwords.
Enable 2FATo further secure your account, 2FA Whenever possible.
Regularly monitor your accounts: Frequently check your bank statements, credit reports and online accounts for signs of suspicious activity.
Be careful with your personal information: Only share personal information with trusted sources and be careful about what you share online.
Click here to get FOX Business on the go
Invest in removal services: No service promises to delete all your data from the Internet, but if you want to constantly monitor and automate the process of continually deleting information from hundreds of sites over a long period of time, a deletion service can be a useful tool. Check out the moving services I recommend here.
Freeze your credit: If you find out that you’ve been a victim of identity theft, consider freezing your credit report to prevent new accounts from being opened in your name without your consent.
File a report with the Federal Trade Commission: If you suspect identity theft or fraud, report it to the FTC.
Use identity theft protection services: Identity theft companies monitor personal information like Social Security numbers (SSNs), phone numbers, and email addresses to alert you if it’s being sold on the dark web or used to open accounts. They can also help you freeze bank and credit card accounts to prevent further fraud by criminals. Check out our tips and best choices for protecting yourself against identity theft.
Update your software: Install antivirus and antimalware programs. Latest Protects against the latest security threats.
Beware of phishing scams: Be wary of unsolicited emails that ask for personal information or direct you to a web page that requests it. The best way to protect yourself from clicking on malicious links that install malware that may access your personal information is to install antivirus protection on all your devices. This will Phishing emails or Ransomware scam. We’ve handpicked the winners of the best antivirus protection of 2024 for Windows, Mac, Android and iOS devices.
Massive Dell Data Breach Affects 49 Million Users — Privacy and Security Implications
Important points about the cart
Ticketmaster wasn’t the first big Companies suffer data breaches This year, it probably won’t be the last. But given the fact that Ticketmaster has already disappointed many customers, this could be the final straw for millions of them. Many people have already migrated to other ticketing sites such as Eventify, Eventbrite or StubHub. This is a good start, but when it comes to your data, no company is 100% secure. That’s why it’s important to take as many security measures as you can yourself.
Click here to get the FOX News app
Do you purchase tickets from Ticketmaster? Will you reconsider purchasing tickets from them in light of this violation? Cyberguy.com/Contact Us
If you want to receive more of my tech tips and security alerts, subscribe to the free CyberGuy Report newsletter at the link below. Cyberguy.com/Newsletter
Have a question for Kurt or tell us the story you’d like to see featured?.
Follow Kurt on his social channels:
Answers to the CyberGuy’s most frequently asked questions:
Copyright 2024 CyberGuy.com. All Rights Reserved.
