Hacker claims to have stolen data from 560 million Ticketmaster customers

A notorious hacker has claimed to have stolen the personal data of more than half a billion Ticketmaster customers, likely including Australians.

In a widely reported dark web post, hacker ShinyHunters claims to have 1.3 terabytes of data from 560 million global Ticketmaster and Live Nation customers, including names, emails, addresses, phone numbers and the last four digits of credit card numbers.

The hacker is selling the data, which could potentially be used to commit identity theft and other types of fraud, for $US500 million (roughly $750 million).

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It is not known how many, if any, Australians have been impacted by the hack. Australia is one of 35 countries Ticketmaster operates in.

A spokesperson for the Australian Department of Home Affairs said the department "is aware of a cyber incident impacting Ticketmaster".

"The National Office of Cyber Security is engaging with Ticketmaster to understand the incident," the spokesperson said.

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"Specific enquiries relating to this incident should be directed to Ticketmaster."

9news.com.au has contacted Ticketmaster for comment.

The claimed hack comes as the US Justice Department sues Ticketmaster and parent company Live Nation Entertainment in an attempt to break up the company.

"It's time for fans and artists to stop paying the price for Live Nation's monopoly," Attorney-General Merrick Garland said last Thursday.

"It is time to restore competition and innovation in the entertainment industry. It is time to break up Live Nation-Ticketmaster."

The giant says it sells more than 500 million tickets every year.

Today's apparent hack is the second major cyber incident this month, coming weeks after e-prescription provider Medisecure fell victim to what the federal government described as a "large scale" data breach.

– With Associated Press