Ticketmaster hack may affect more than 500 million customers

Ticketmaster's parent company says it is investigating a possible data breach after a group of hackers claimed to have stolen the personal information of 560 million Ticketmaster customers.

In a securities filing, Ticketmaster owner Live Nation said it identified "unauthorized activity within a third-party cloud database environment containing Company data" on May 20.

A week later, the hacking group ShinyHunters claimed it had obtained 1.3 terabytes of Ticketmaster user data, including names, addresses, phone numbers, as well as order details and credit card information. The hackers were selling the data on the dark web for $500,000, according to Hack Read.

As of Friday, Live Nation said there was no evidence that the data breach had a "material impact" on its business operations. The company added that it is working to mitigate risk to its users and has notified law enforcement.

"As appropriate, we are also notifying regulatory authorities and users with respect to unauthorized access to personal information," Live Nation said.

Ticketmaster did not immediately respond to NPR's request for comment.

According to the Justice Department, ShinyHunters has marketed stolen data from over 60 companies in the U.S. and globally since early 2020.

"The victims range from tech companies, to an international stock trading company, to an apparel company, and a nutrition and fitness company," the department said in January 2023. "Millions of customer records were included in the stolen data."

The cyberattack comes as Ticketmaster faces legal troubles. On May 23, the Justice Department and 30 state and district attorneys general filed a federal lawsuit against Live Nation, alleging that it created a monopoly on live event ticket prices.

The suit has the potential to reshape the live entertainment industry, as well as the fees and costs associated with live events.