Ticketmaster Hit by Major Data Breach: Hackers Demand $8 Million After Exposing Taylor Swift Tour Data
Ticketmaster faces a massive data breach with hackers demanding $8 million ransom after discovering Taylor Swift Eras Tour ticketing data among the stolen information. The ShinyHunters hacking group initially requested $1 million but increased their demand after analyzing the extent of the compromised data.
Ticketmaster search interface with Taylor Swift
The breach includes:
- 193 million ticketing barcodes (including 440,000 Taylor Swift tickets worth $22 billion)
- 980 million sales orders
- 680 million order details
- 1.2 billion party lookup records
- 440 million unique email addresses
- 400 million encrypted credit card details with partial information
- 560 million Address Verification System records
The compromised Taylor Swift data specifically includes ticket information for Eras Tour events at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis (November 1-3, 2024). The exposed barcode values and seat details create risks for counterfeit ticket creation, similar to the incident at a Bad Bunny concert in Mexico City in 2022.
The breach also exposes host account creation dates and VAX account numbers, making users vulnerable to phishing attacks and social engineering attempts. This could be the largest publicly disclosed non-scrape breach of customer Personally Identifiable Information, potentially surpassing the Equifax hack in scope and sensitivity.
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