TICKETMASTER PAYS US$10M FINE TO END HACKING PROBE

Ticketmaster LLC will pay a

US$10-million criminal fine to avoid prosecution on U.S. charges it repeatedly accessed the computer systems of a rival whose assets its parent Live Nation Entertainment Inc later purchased. The fine is part of a three-year deferred prosecution agreement between Ticketmaster and the U.S. Department of Justice, which was disclosed at a Wednesday hearing before U.S. District Judge Margo Brodie in Brooklyn federal court. Ticketmaster’s agreement resolves five criminal counts including wire fraud, conspiracy and computer intrusion. Prosecutors said that from August 2013 to December 2015, Ticketmaster employees used stolen passwords to repeatedly access computers belonging to its rival, Songkick, which specialized in artist presales, to obtain confidential business information.