Ticketfly hacked, prompting headaches
Music fans who tried to buy tickets online recently through Ticketfly were in for a surprise.
What they found was that the San Francisco-based ticketing company had shut down its online network in the wake of an apparent hacking that has snarled up ticket-selling operations and might have compromised customer information.
“Following a series of recent issues with Ticketfly properties, we’ve determined that Ticketfly has been the target of a cyber incident,” a post reads on the website. “Out of an abundance of caution, we have taken all Ticketfly systems temporarily offline as we continue to look into the issue. We are working to bring our systems back online as soon as possible. Please visit ticketf.ly/update for additional information.”
“For information on specific events please check the social media accounts of the presenting venues/promoters to learn more about availability/status of upcoming shows,” the Ticketfly post reads. “In many cases, shows are still happening and tickets may be available at the door.”
Venues are already working on ways to handle the ticketing situation this weekend.
The Independent, for one, is asking fans to bring hard copies of their tickets to the venue this weekend.
“Due to current issues with Ticketfly, we ask that all attendees who purchased print-at-home tickets for any of our shows this weekend, please bring the physical copy of their tickets to the show,” the venue tweeted.
It’s unknown at this point when the hack happened, but Billboard is reporting that “users started noticing something was wrong with the Ticketfly site late Wednesday around 9 p.m. PST.” Ticketfly’s home page was defaced by a hacker or hackers using the moniker Ishakdz and a stylized picture of famed British conspirator Guy Fawkes and an ominous warning: “Your Security Down im Not Sorry.’”
The hacker reportedly claims to have taken possession of the company’s “backstage” database, which an insider told Billboard is where Ticketfly “stores client information for the thousands of venues, promoters and festivals that use Ticketfly.”
As to whether that includes individual customers’ credit card information and other data, Billboard’s insider says hopefully that information is “cordoned off and encrypted.”
Ticketfly has confirmed that their client/customer information has been compromised but offered few other details.
“Our investigation into the incident is ongoing. We’re putting all of our resources to confirm the extent of the unauthorized access. We’re committed to communicating with all customers once we have more information about the scope of the issue.”
Two days after the hack, the site was still down Friday afternoon.
“Unfortunately, we don’t have a specific timeline to share right now,” according to a website post. “We deeply regret the inconvenience caused by this incident and are working around the clock to resolve the issue and get all Ticketfly systems back up and running.”
In the meantime, Ticketfly has some suggestions for fans who have already purchased tickets through the site for upcoming shows.
“We suggest looking at the social media pages of the venue that is hosting the show for real-time updates,” a post reads. “We will be supplying venues with a printed guest list so please bring your photo ID and a printed copy of your ticket if you can. If you were not the original ticket purchaser, you will likely need all three of the following: original credit card used to purchase the ticket; a photocopy of the original buyer’s ID; and a note from the original buyer authorizing you to pick up the ticket(s).”