Pandemonium Rocks music festival hit with massive data breach; Refunds & all you need to know as organizers issues statement

The Pandemonium Rocks music festival has faced another controversy following a massive data breach. The breach is reportedly linked to the refund forms filled by multiple ticketholders to claim partial refunds after select headliners, like Dead Kennedys, Placebo, Gang of Four, and more were canceled unexpectedly.

Following the cancellation of 7 out of the 13 acts, more than 400 ticketholders had requested partial refunds through a form sent via mail. However, according to reports, there was a clerical error with the form causing the Admin tab to be accessible. As such, some unauthorized individuals could access the results tab and go through the names, phone numbers, email IDs, and banking details of others between 5:47 pm and 7:20 pm on April 19.

The organizers of the Australian music festival are actively reaching out to all affected people and informing them about the breach of their data in the public domain. The organizers also advised them to secure their banking details and change any sensitive information if possible.

An issue with the refund form led to the data breach (Image via @pandemoniumrocks / Instagram)

Despite the controversy, the issue with the refund form is now fixed and ticketholders can claim partial refunds for the canceled acts. Additionally, people can also choose between a monetary refund or a themed hoodie. While there have also been demands for full refunds, the organizers have only reduced the ticket prices by over $70.

Apart from sharing the details about the data breach, the organizers also apologized to the affected individuals through a social media post on April 19, quoting:

"All people within that timeframe who filled the form will be contacted by pandemonium directly ASAP to notify them that their data was made public during that window and to advise their banks to update their information. We are sincerely sorry for the angst this has caused."

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Everything to know about Pandemonium Rocks music festival's data breach

From facing the withdrawal of the headliners to dealing with the speculations of a cancellation, the Pandemonium Rocks music festival organizers already had it tough before they received the news of the data breach on Friday. The clerical error reportedly caused the personal data of more than 100 people to be revealed in the public domain and seemed to have shaken the festival's overall image.

However, all was not lost for the Australian music festival as fans displayed their support by visiting the inaugural event in Melbourne on April 20 in large numbers. The show that took place at the Caribbean Garden was lined with back-to-back performances from Blondie, Wheatus, Cosmic Psychos, Alice Cooper, Psychedelic Furs, Wolfmother, and Aimee Francis.

The next outdoor show of the Australian music festival will be hosted in Sydney at Cathy Freeman Park on April 25, followed by a show on the Gold Coast at Broadwater Parklands on April 27. The Pandemonium Rocks music festival will officially wrap up in Brisbane with a final show at Eatons Hill Hotel on April 28.

The Pandemonium Rocks Music Festival will end on April 28 (Image via Wendy Wei / Pexels)

This is not the first time music festivals or concerts have faced unexpected obstacles in Australia. Over the last few months, major music festivals like "Splendour in the Grass 2024" and "Groovin’ The Moo in 2024" have also been canceled. While the Splendour festival was canceled for unexplained reasons, the Groovin festival was canceled, citing poor sales of tickets.

Though fans couldn't help being disappointed about the canceled headliners of the Pandemonium Rocks music festival, they have also praised the event organizers for continuing the festival despite all obstacles.