Australia Investigating Alleged Ticketmaster Hack

 

Australia's Department of Home Affairs is currently collaborating with Ticketmaster following reports of hackers unlawfully obtaining personal information from over 560 million customers. The group behind the breach, ShinyHunters, is purportedly demanding a $500,000 ransom to prevent the sale of the compromised data to third parties.

While acknowledging the breach, Australia stated that it is actively engaged with Ticketmaster to investigate the incident. However, Ticketmaster, a prominent online ticket sales platform, has not yet confirmed whether a security breach has occurred.

According to sources, hackers managed to access a vast array of customer data, including names, addresses, phone numbers, and partial payment details from Ticketmaster's global clientele. The FBI has offered its assistance to Australian authorities in addressing the situation.

ShinyHunters has previously been associated with several high-profile data breaches that have resulted in substantial financial losses for affected companies. Notably, in 2021, the group sold a legitimate database containing stolen information from 70 million customers of US telecoms firm AT&T. Additionally, nearly 200,000 Pizza Hut customers in Australia fell victim to a data breach orchestrated by the group in September of the previous year.

The timing of this latest alleged hack coincides with the resurrection of BreachForums, a dark web platform frequented by hackers involved in trading stolen data and sharing resources for carrying out cyberattacks. Despite the FBI's efforts to shut down the website in March 2023 by arresting its administrator Conor Brian Fitzpatrick, reports suggest that it has resurfaced.

It is common for users of such forums to exaggerate the extent of their hacks to attract attention from other hackers. While these platforms are often where large databases of stolen information are initially disclosed, they can also host false claims and allegations.

Security researcher Kevin Beaumont emphasizes the importance of verifying any claims of data breaches as sometimes hackers may fabricate or exaggerate their activities. Instances have occurred where large data sets claimed by individuals have turned out to be duplicates from previous breaches rather than newly compromised information.

If confirmed, the Ticketmaster breach could go down in history as one of the most extensive and damaging breaches in terms of the sheer volume of data compromised.

Ticketmaster has faced security challenges in the past, including a 2020 confession of hacking into a competitor's system, resulting in a $10 million fine. In November of the same year, the company was allegedly targeted in a cyber attack that affected ticket sales for Taylor Swift's tour.

Recently, US regulators took legal action against Live Nation, Ticketmaster's parent company, alleging that the entertainment conglomerate engaged in anti-competitive practices to maintain a monopoly in the live music industry. The lawsuit filed by the Department of Justice accused the firm of unlawfully monopolizing the live music sector through illicit tactics.