Ticketmaster hack: Australia probing reported theft of data of 560 million customers

The Australian government said on Thursday (May 30) that it was investigating claims of a massive cyber crime whose responsibility was claimed by a hacking group. The group, called Shiny Hunters, said in an online forum that it stole the details of 560 millioncustomers from global events giant Ticketmaster.

The stolen data included the names, addresses, phone numbers and partial credit card details of customers, ShinyHunters said. It added that the data was available forUS$500,000 in a "one-time sale."

In a statement, the Australian government said that it was engaging with Ticketmaster to understand the incident. The government urged people with specific inquiries to contact the firm directly.

FBI offers assistance

Speaking to the news agency AFP, a spokesperson from the US Embassy in Australia said that the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) offered assistance toCanberra over the incident.

Ticketmaster is based in California and operates one of thelargest online ticket sales platforms in the world.

How ShinyHunters gained notoriety

ShinyHunters garnered attention when itput up huge troves of customer records from over 60 companies, the US Department of Justice said. In January this year, a court in Seattle jailedSebastien Raoult, a computer hacker who was a member of ShinyHunters.

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Raoult, who is from France,was sentenced to three years in prison and ordered to pay more than $5 million in restitution after pleading guilty to conspiracy to commit wire fraud and aggravated identity theft.

(With inputs from agencies)