Last week, news broke that a hacker was selling data for almost 1 million user accounts from Coachella’s website on the dark web. Vice‘s Motherboard website published investigative findings on February 22 that the hacker, who was operatingon the Tokcha online marketplace under the handle “Berkut,” was selling roughly 950,000 user accounts for $300.
Today, February 28, Coachella has officially responded to the hacking quandary. In an email, Coachella informed website account holders of the hack, stating,”We recently discovered that unauthorized third parties illegally gained access to the usernames, first and last names, shipping addresses, email addresses, phone numbers and dates of birth individuals provided to Coachella. We have confirmed that no user passwords were stolen.”
Fortunately, Coachella confirmed that they found “no financial information [to be] accessed” in their investigation, and report to have “taken measures to block further unauthorized access.”
Coachella’s statement went on to advise accountholders on best steps going forward to guard against phishing resulting from the hack.
“Please be aware that you may be targeted by phishing emails sent from people impersonating Coachella personnel. Please remember that Coachella will never solicit personal information or account information from you via email. Please exercise caution if you receive any emails or phone calls that ask for such information, or direct you to web sites where you are asked for personal or financial information. Festival ticketing purchase accounts were not affected by this incident, however festival attendees may want to consider changing any passwords that they have shared with others.”
While official confirmation that no payment information was discovered to be accessed by the massive hack is relieving, it is Coachella accountholders would be wise to update their account information expediently.
Via: Pitchfork