Ticketfly Hack Update: Site Still Down, Buyers Get Workaround For Tickets

Yesterday Ticketfly confirmed that its website had been compromised by a hacker who vandalized the home page with a Guy Fawkes image. A report later that day claimed the hacker had potentially stolen company data and was holding it ransom, seeking a single bitcoin in exchange. The Ticketfly site is still down, and now the company is back with an update.

The company has published a new support page titled Cyber Incident Update. In it, the company says that it is working on bringing back "the most critical parts" of its system, but that "technical complexity" means it will take awhile. The company isn't prepared to give a timeframe, instead saying only that the system will be back online in the relatively near future.

The company explains that it is still investigating the intrusion, and that a cybersecurity and forensic team is on the job. The company hasn't yet disclosed whether personal data was compromised by the hack, but promises that it will give updates in the future.

This evening, Gizmodo reported that it had communicated with the hacker, who goes by the name IsHakdZ, and it claims he acquired a "complete database" containing important data. The hacker claimed (via Motherboard) that he'd previously warned Ticketfly and sought one bitcoin in exchange for protection. Among the data acquired by the hacker is said to be a database called "backstage," though what it contains isn't clear.

On its Twitter account, Ticketfly is advising customers on how to deal with the issue for shows tonight that were serviced by its system. Customers are told to bring a photo ID and printed versions of their digital tickets with them to the event, as well as the confirmation email, the credit card or a picture of it that was used to purchase the items, and a signed note from the purchaser (if applicable).

SOURCE: Ticketfly