Cyber-security authorities are urgently seeking more information from
US group Ticketmaster after a hacking group claimed to have accessed
the details of 560 million customers worldwide.
A group calling itself ShinyHunters posted evidence of the hack on the dark web, and demanded a ransom payment of US$500,000.
Ticketmaster, a California-based company, operates one of the largest
online ticket sales platforms in the world. It did not initially
respond to requests for clarification, leaving millions of the company’s
customers to worry over the possible release of their banking details.
In November Ticketmaster was allegedly hit by a cyber-attack which
led to problems selling tickets for Taylor Swift's Era's tour. There are
fears that those who bought tickets for the shows through Ticketmaster
could have had their details compromised in the latest alleged
cyberattack.
While the Ticketmaster hack has renewed cybersecurity concerns, a
cybersecurity expert at Australia’s Monash University urged people to be
very sceptical of all messages they receive as the first step of
staying safe online.
As for Ticketmaster-specific concerns, professor Nigel Phair, from
the Department of Software Systems and Cybersecurity, told the Daily
Mail that customers should think about what information they had shared
with the website and how scammers could use it.
“Be on the lookout for phishing emails, texts and phone calls,” he said.
“They need to think about how they logged on. If their credentials
have been exposed, it's going to be their username and password.
'Unfortunately, a lot of us reuse the same password across a number
of different logins so people need to think about changing those if
they're used across multiple platforms.'
“However, once data has been leaked it can be difficult to undo the damage.”