NYC landmarks hacked, customer data leaked

New York City is one of those places that people from around the globe make a pilgrimage to see. During the holiday season, Radio City Music Hall and the tree at Rockefeller Center are traditions that many families do annually. Similarly, Madison Square Garden is a beacon for fans of sports and concerts.

Unfortunately, the popularity of some of these venues caught the eyes of some grinching hackers. Earlier this week, the owners of Madison Square Garden, Radio City Music Hall and the Beacon Theater announced that they were the victims of a data breach.

The incident was active between November of 2015 and October of this year. Hackers are said to have likely stolen personal information from credit and debit cards used at food and beverage locations.

In response to the NY Daily News, the company said, “MSG recognizes the importance of protecting customer data and deeply regrets any inconvenience this incident may have caused its customers.”

Currently, the company has not identified the scope of this breach at this time. However, if you attended any events at these venues, you should keep an eye on your account statements and dispute any charges that you did not authorize.

“It’s great to see chipped credit cards and the necessary chip readers gain adoption as these sorts of fairly preventable schemes continue to be exposed. EMV is a real benefit to travelers, tourists, and folks looking for a good show without the risk of easy credit card fraud,” said Kurt Baumgartner, Principal Security Researcher, GReAT. 

On the downside, even people with chipped cards need to review transactions in their accounts – unprotected, striped card readers were and are still in use.

Earlier this year, we blogged on how the transition to pin and chip cards in the US is leading to an increase in fraud. Unfortunately, this is something that consumers will have to deal with until the transition is complete.

So much like our tips for Black Friday shopping, we advise you to be vigilant in keeping your money safe and out of criminals’ hands.