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Madison Square Garden reveals long-term data breach

Posted On: Nov. 23, 2016 1:26 PM CST

Madison Square Garden reveals long-term data breach

Madison Square Garden Co. said Tuesday it has discovered an almost yearlong credit card data breach at its venues.

The New York-based company said in a statement that from Nov. 9, 2015, until Oct. 24, 2016, data contained in the magnetic stripe on the back of payment cards that were swiped in person to purchase merchandise and food and beverage items at Madison Square Garden, the Theater at Madison Square Garden, Radio City Music Hall, Beacon Theater and Chicago Theater may have been affected.

Data accessed may have included credit card numbers, cardholder names, expiration dates and internal verification codes, although not all cards used during this time frame were affected, the firm said. It said the incident did not involve cards used at its websites, at the venues’ box offices or on Ticketmaster.

Madison Square Garden said it was notified of the problem by payment card issuing banks, which had identified a transaction pattern indicating a potential data security concern.

It said in the last week of October, as soon as an investigation found signs of external unauthorized access, it worked with security firms to stop the breach and implement enhanced security measures.

A Madison Square Garden spokesman could not be reached for comment as to its insurance coverage.