Earlier this year, Ticketmaster experienced a massive data breach that is now revealed to be more extensive than initially thought. The hack compromised 440,000 tickets specifically for Taylor Swift’s Eras Tour. The hacker group ShinyHunters, which carried out the attack, has significantly increased its ransom demand.
Initially accepting a “rushed” offer of $1 million from Ticketmaster’s parent company Live Nation Entertainment, they have now raised the demand to $8 million after reassessing the value of the hacked data.
ShinyHunters updated their ransom demand on a hacking forum, stating that the information obtained is far more valuable than they initially believed. They have reportedly acquired 193 million ticket barcodes worth over $22.6 billion, including tickets for Taylor Swift’s tour and 30 million other tickets for 65,000 events.
The initial attempt to sell the data for $500,000 in May was unsuccessful, and the group claims this breach contains the personal details of 560 million Ticketmaster customers, including names, addresses, phone numbers, email addresses, purchase histories, and partial payment data.
Further details from ShinyHunters indicate that the breach also includes 400 million encrypted credit cards, 440 million unique email addresses, and 680 million order details, making it potentially the largest publicly disclosed non-scrape breach of customer personal information.
The timeline of Live Nation’s purported offer to pay $1 million remains unclear. Mashable has reached out to Live Nation for comments on this development.
Ticketmaster has been facing significant challenges recently, beyond the backlash from customers. Last year, the company was scrutinized in a U.S. Senate hearing over the lack of competition in the live music industry.
In May, the U.S. Justice Department filed a lawsuit aiming to dismantle Live Nation, accusing it of antitrust violations, with Ticketmaster handling over 70 percent of tickets sold or resold for major U.S. concert venues in 2022. Live Nation has denied these monopoly accusations, claiming its market share and profit margins have been decreasing.
This breach is not Ticketmaster’s first issue involving Taylor Swift fans. In 2022, the presale for Swift’s Eras Tour faced significant problems, leading to the cancellation of the public ticket sale due to insufficient ticket inventory.
Ticketmaster apologized, but it faced a lawsuit from fans accusing the company of deceptive practices. Swift expressed her frustration, noting that Ticketmaster had assured her team multiple times that they could handle the demand. Now, with 440,000 compromised tickets, the trouble continues for Swift’s fans and Ticketmaster.