WICHITA, Kan. (KSNW) — Ticketing company AXS is behind country superstar Zach Bryan’s most recent tour. The singer plans to make a stop in Wichita later this summer.
A local tech expert says he anticipates companies like AXS will continue to beef up their safeguards as the Senate investigation into Ticketmaster’s parent company continues.
“They had the wrong infrastructure and security measures in place to prevent that cyberattack,” said Bill Ramsey, CEO of Soteria Technology Solutions.
Ramsey specializes in building software that targets bots. He says additional guarantees used by ticketing companies like AXS, including a $1 refundable deposit that fans must pay to register in advance (with no guarantee that they will receive a ticket), can slow down the bots.
“By asking everyone to make… dollar deposits, they will try to check credit card numbers, and this can only be allowed for ‘x’ number of tickets,” Ramsey said.
Another safeguard includes a ban on ticket sales, though Ramsey says logistically it’s much more complicated.
“I’m not sure how they’re going to follow that, honestly, unless they’re all purely digital… there’s a technology out there that can make that happen,” Ramsey said.
Ramsey points out that while these safeguards are important, no safeguard is ever foolproof.
“Phone number, address, credit card number — I mean, you can enter ten different checks to say ‘Hey, is this really a person and not a bot?'” Ramsey said.
Ramsey predicts customers will be required to provide even more personal information to ticketing companies as the fight against bots and scalpers continues.
“The systems that are out there are definitely going to have to start getting a lot more restrictive and the way those tickets are sold, to please the artist, if nothing else,” Ramsey said. “It’s as much a public relations nightmare for the artist as anyone else.”
AXS confirms with KSN News 3 that fans will have until January 29 at 9 PM CST to register and have the option to purchase a ticket to the Zach Bryan concert. All registered fans will then be notified on February 16 if they have been selected to purchase a ticket.
