Ticketmaster data protection scandal not an isolated incident

As we continue to take on cases for victims of the Ticketmaster data protection scandal, we can tell you that this is not an isolated incident.

In the same month that the news of the massive – and very preventable – Ticketmaster data protection scandal hit the press, there was also another ticketing service that had suffered a huge data protection breach as well.

Ticket distribution service, Ticketfly, was temporarily crippled after a data protection breach that involved some 26 million users.

Ticketmaster data protection scandal shortly after the Ticketfly breach

The breaking of the news about the Ticketmaster data protection scandal was shortly after the Ticketfly breach. Given that Ticketmaster had been warned by a bank that they had suffered a data breach, and given the length of time the Ticketmaster victims’ data was exposed (from February to June 2018), we wonder whether the Ticketfly data breach rang any alarm bells for Ticketmaster at all…

Ticketmaster claim they discovered the data breach on Saturday 23^rd June 2018, despite the prior warnings, and despite the length of time that had passed. It’s concerning to note that their own systems were unable to discover the ongoing vulnerability until earlier. These are factors we have taken into account when assessing the action we have started for UK victims.

Similar data breached

There are some similarities in terms of the data that has been targeted and leaked in both the Ticketmaster data protection scandal and the Ticketfly incident.

We understand that data breached in the Ticketfly case includes names, email addresses, phone numbers and postal addresses. However, there has not been any confirmation as to whether payment details have been compromised, which is one of the primary issues in the Ticketmaster data protection scandal.

The Ticketfly data breach dwarfs Ticketmaster in terms of numbers; 26m Ticketfly victims, and 40,000 Ticketmaster victims.

Impact of ticket website data breaches

Aside from the obvious impact to the victims who use the websites, there can be knock-on effects when it comes to a data breach or a data leak that stems from a ticket website.

Although the impact of the Ticketmaster data protection scandal on venues or events has yet to be identified, the Ticketfly data breach reportedly caused huge problems with events and venues who struggled to sell tickets, especially when both the website and the app went down after discovery of the data leak.

Will there be similar knock-on effect for any events or venues given the Ticketmaster breach? Will people avoid using the site?

GDPR and legal advice

Both data breach incidents appear to have crossed over the line of the GDPR threshold, which may result in them being hit with fines that could amount to £17m or 4% of their annual turnover.

For advice about claiming for data breach compensation in either of the Ticketfly or Ticketmaster data protection scandals, please contact the team for advice and assistance.

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