Ex-Ticketmaster boss sentenced for hacking rival company CrowdSurge
nme.comBBC), during his time at the ticketing giant, Mead allegedly accessed CrowdSurge’s system with IP addresses registered to Ticketmaster at least 25 times between August 2013 and December 2015.The Department of Justice stated that Mead’s actions contributed to the downfall of CrowdSurge.
He pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit computer intrusions against the company in June and was now ordered to pay $67,970 (£52,000) as a forfeiture and was also sentenced to a year’s supervised release.According to court papers which were filed in the US, Ticketmaster executives asked Mead to share “competitive intelligence” about CrowdSurge and its practises.
Mead went on to share confidential CrowdSurge spreadsheets, access to the company’s password-protected information – which he was quoted as saying to “screengrab the hell out of the system”, and discussed how to cut off “CrowdSurge at the knees”.
Mead also shared real-time ticket sales data and the identities of the performers the company was working with.Mead’s co-conspirator and boss – former Ticketmaster executive, Zeeshan Zaidi – previously pleaded guilty to charges of conspiracy to commit computer intrusions and wire fraud back in 2019.While working for the ticketing giant, Mead was promoted as the director of client services in Ticketmaster’s artist services division, in 2015 and reported directly to Zaidi.According to the Department of Justice, the CrowdSurge information was used by Ticketmaster as a way to plan competitive responses in efforts to gain pre-sale ticketing business and compare products and offerings.The news of Mead’s sentencing comes after the recent Oasis reunion ticket fiasco which saw millions flocking to try to grab tickets and many – including Louis.
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