Ticketmaster and parent company, Live Nation, have agreed to pay $10 million in fines for hiring a previous employee from rival competitor, CrowdSurge (now Songkick) in order to hack into CrowdSurge’s accounts using old usernames and passwords. The hacking allowed for Ticketmaster to access their rival competitor’s private information which showcased their private information and plans in order to gain a competitive advantage and to “cut the company off at the knees.”
The allegations stem back to 2017 after CrowdSruge, sued Live Nation over antitrust violations following the hacking for $110 million. According to evidence obtained by court documents, Ticketmaster hired ex CrowdSurge employee, Stephen Mead, in 2013 to hack into his previous employer’s accounts in order to obtain classified business information. Mead had previous passwords of employees and accounts in order to access such information. The information that was obtained included classified company operations, analytics, and other confidential business information.
Under the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act, Ticketmaster must pay the fine to their rival competitor. They must also maintain clear cut policies that focus on unwanted computer violations and penalties for the next three years.
Feature Photo – Aquí En MX
Source – The Verge & Mirror UK
