- Organizers confirm Venice attendees affected by a data breach
- Names and contact details were included in the leaked data
- Entertainment is a growing focus for attacks
The Venice Film Festival has confirmed it recently suffered a data breach, with hackers believed to have accessed the personal information of participants, including journalist.
Organizers confirmed the attack occurred on July 7, 2025, with journalists from The Hollywood Reporter confirming they had received breach notification letters revealing the incident.
Affected data could include names, email addresses, phone numbers, mailing addresses and even tax codes for those who were eligible for VAT refunds, according to the report.
Venice Film Festival attendees affected by data breach
During the breach, unauthorized individuals accessed and copied documents stored on the festival’s servers, though the IT team “intervened promptly, isolating the affected systems and securing them.”
“The competent authorities were immediately informed, and restoration operations were initiated,” Venice’s IT workers added.
Although the breach is believed to have a limited impact – not involving organizational data, payments, bookings or ticketing – the scope of the data collected could still put individuals at risk.
Under Article 33 of the EU GDPR, controllers must notify the supervisory authority within 72 hours of becoming aware of a breach – delayed disclosure can draw regulatory scrutiny and potential fines. It’s unclear when authorities became aware of the incident, but letters appear to have started arriving with those affected on August 5 or 6.
Venice is not alone in being affected by cybercriminal activity – during Cannes 2022, bots overwhelmed its new online ticketing portal.
Germany’s KonBriefing Research explains the entertainment sector can be an especially attractive environment for attackers seeking to gain access to high-value personal data.
Venice attendees should consider changing passwords and enabling multi-factor authentication (MFA) to protect accounts, but they should also be aware of potential phishing attempts from Venice-related activities, including La Biennale.
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