Ticketmaster has confirmed to customers in the U.S. that it experienced a data breach earlier this year, but insisted that their accounts with the site were secure.
Users of the ticket selling site began sharing emails they had received last week about the data breach, first reported in late May.
Ticketmaster declined to comment when asked by Newsweek, but instead shared a help sheet on its website appearing to confirm the news that some 560 million customers worldwide had been affected by the leak.
"The database contained limited personal information of some customers who bought tickets to events in North America," Ticketmaster said on its website.
Email addresses, phone numbers and some encrypted payment information was included in the breach, the company said, adding that it was notifying customers who had been affected.
"We take data protection very seriously and have been working with the relevant authorities, including law enforcement, as well as credit card companies and banks," Ticketmaster said.
Ticketmaster said the breach came from an unauthorized user gaining access to a third-party data server provider and that no further activity had been reported.
Parent company Live Nation informed the SEC of the breach on May 20, a week before the alleged hackers posted the data online, offering it for sale.
"We are working to mitigate risk to our users and the Company, and have notified and are cooperating with law enforcement," the filing said.
The delay in letting customers know officially is intentional, one expert told Newsweek on Tuesday.
"[Companies] want to be transparent, but they also have to wait and confirm through forensics who was affected, what data was affected and how much of it, so that they can actually do the notification," Mike Bruemmer, Vice President and Head of Experian Global Data Breach Resolution said.
"It's worse announcing too soon and saying many people might be impacted, only to find out that number is different, particularly if it's much larger or more expansive in terms of the data."
Bruemmer added that Ticketmaster is not alone, with more companies being targeted by those seeking to make money out of the data being stolen and ransomed.
What should Ticketmaster customers do?
As for customers, Ticketmaster said they should monitor activity on their bank accounts closely and ensure they are using secure passwords for all accounts.
It is also offering a free 12-month credit or identity monitoring service "through a leading provider".
Bruemmer told Newsweek that consumers affected by data breaches should always take "aggressive" action.
"Time is of the essence," he said. "You can always immediately check your credit file, you can change passwords, you can sign up for identity theft protection."
The group behind the data breach was reported to be ShinyHunters, which first appeared in 2020.
The U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation reportedly tried to stop the hackers by shutting down the site they use to operate in May, but without success.
Speaking to Newsweek following news of the hack in May, cyber security expert at Bridgewater State University Michelle Stanfield said it was important for all customers to perform some cyber hygiene, even if it is unconfirmed they have been targeted.
"I think that changing passwords is something that we can and should all be doing on a regular basis anyway," she said. "I know that many people use the same password across multiple platforms, so regularly and routinely changing these is something we can all do to protect ourselves."
Stanfield said with ransomware attacks on the rise, companies should also be frequently checking on their cyber security and performing back-ups of customer data whenever possible.
With more reports of personal information ending up in data leaks, Newsweek also took a look at how to best protect your data.
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Dan Gooding is a Newsweek reporter based in New York City. His focus is reporting on immigration and the U.S.-Mexico ... Read more
