User Data of Millions Exposed in Ticketfly Hack; Investigation Continues

Systems are beginning to come back online for Eventbrite-owned Ticketfly after a “cyber incident” that reportedly may impact up to 26 million user accounts and caused major headaches for venues and consumers since it kicked off last week. Ticketfly.com is still down, as are large numbers of venue websites powered by the system. But the company’s “Backstage” – Box office, ticket purchasing, and scanning capabilities – are once again available for clients.

Reporting by the Associated Press indicates that the Ticketfly hack data breach involves more than 26 million user accounts, and that the stolen data included email addresses, names, phone numbers and addresses for Ticketfly users. Previous reports said that a hacker attempted to ransom Ticketfly prior to making the breach public, and Vice indicated that analysis of its own staff members whose user information was among the data purported to come from the breach showed it to be accurate.

The company says it has engaged “leading third-party forensic and cybersecurity experts to investigate and help us address the issue,” but has not yet disclosed any further detail about the exposure of customer data that may have occurred.

Our investigation into the incident is ongoing. It’s critical that the information we share with you is accurate and backed by certainty. We are working with a team of forensic cybersecurity experts; the reality is cyber incidents are unique, and the investigations typically take more time than one would like because the full picture of what happened isn’t always quick to develop.

 

We have learned that some customer information has been compromised as part of the incident, including names, addresses, emails, and phone numbers of Ticketfly fans. We understand the importance you place on the privacy and security of your data and we deeply regret any unauthorized access to it. We assure you we are taking this very seriously and are committed to providing updates as appropriate.

Still down as of Sunday evening are Ticketfly.com, the Ticketfly iOS app, Promoter, Pulse, and Fanbase (AKA Top Fans). The company says it has “prioritized the work to bring up the most critical pieces of the platform first” and that updates will be coming as any new developments come along.