TicketMaster Breach 2024 — What you should do

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Introduction:

I am a Canadian cybersecurity professional, and like you, I have bought tickets to events through TicketMaster. Staying up to date with the news, I heard about the breach and patiently waited to hear more until I received the following email from TicketMaster:

Email from TicketMaster Regarding the Breach

I was pretty upset to see this message, as TicketMaster already has terrible business practices that make it more expensive to attend events. Now, it turns out they have poor security (I explain this more in the conclusion), and I’m likely to face further attacks because of them. I fully intend to watch for a class action and encourage you to get involved as well.

What Should you Do?

First, I want to dispel a myth about large companies like this and their response to a breach like this one. It’s important to know that they don’t care about you, and they will not “do everything they can to protect your data”. Instead, they will do the absolute bare minimum to minimize charges from the SEC and other regulatory bodies. This means that you cannot rely on them to protect you in any way.

Since you will need to protect yourself, I will cover this in detail, including financial components unique to Canadians dealing with this issue.

Phishing/Scam Calls

It is reasonable to assume that your information included in the breach contains your name, phone number, email address, home address, partial credit card details, and transaction details. (Source: Global News)

This means that you may receive follow-up calls, emails, letters, and text messages from attackers following the incident. These communications may appear convincing as they can identify details like the shows you purchased tickets for, your name, and the last 4 digits of your credit card. Do not engage with any suspicious communications going forward, even if they contain this information!

Always validate the sender and independently verify communications you receive. The best way to contact TicketMaster would be by visiting their support page here. Similar support pages should exist for most companies you deal with. Avoid clicking on any emails that use the same information you provided to TicketMaster.

Note: I have no way of confirming if they are related, but I have been receiving near-daily scam calls since the TicketMaster hack, which was rare prior.

Change Your Account Credentials

Log into your TicketMaster account and change your credentials. While TicketMaster has not stated that passwords have been compromised, it is a good idea to play it safe and change your credentials regardless.

This can be done by doing the following:

1. Open your browser and go to https://ticketmaster.ca
2. In the tiop-right clieck Sign In/Register
3. Enter your username/password and log in
4. Click “My Account” in the top-right
5. A new pane will appear on the right side of the page. Expand “My Profile” and go to “Billing Information”
6. Confirm that you do not have any credit cards saved in your profile. If you do have one, I recommend removing it. It is likely that the attackers already have the last 4 digits of this card.
7. Select the “Profile Details” tab
8. Scroll down to “Update Password” and enter a unique randomly generated password.

If you re-use passwords… STOP. Utilize a password manager, and randomly generate unique passwords for every account.

Monitor Your Credit

In Canada, there are two credit bureaus that contain different information: Equifax and TransUnion. These bureaus monitor different services, so unfortunately, TicketMaster’s offering of free credit monitoring through TransUnion will likely not be enough.

The Financial Consumer Agency of Canada has detailed information about how to monitor your credit here if you want to know more or conduct further research.

However, I recommend using CreditKarma and BorrowWell to monitor these bureaus. They will email you about changes affecting your credit and new inquiries, which can be crucial in preventing or detecting identity theft early.

• Credit Karma
• BorrowWell

Review General CyberSecurity Training

Your employer may have already required you to undergo such training, so I won’t delve into it, but there are free resources like Cyber101 that offer training for you. While it may seem like a chore, it’s also an opportunity to ensure your loved ones know how to stay protected and to confirm that your knowledge is up to date.

Conclusion

TicketMaster is very likely at fault for this breach. Although they claim it was the result of a “third party,” early research strongly indicates that TicketMaster shared your information with a third party for analysis and failed to secure their own accounts on this platform with MFA.

There is currently a class action lawsuit filed against TicketMaster here. I recommend closely monitoring this to see if Canadians can claim compensation or at least a refund for TicketMaster’s negligence in this case.