N.Y. Metropolitan Opera ticket sales crippled by hack on its website

Dec. 9 (UPI) -- A cyberattack disrupted ticket sales at the New York Metropolitan Opera, which tweeted Friday that Lincoln Center is allowing them to sell tickets for select performances through its website.

"While the cyberattack against the Met continues to impact our network, we are grateful to our friends at Lincoln Center, who have allowed us to offer tickets to select performances through their web site," the tweet said.

The Met's computer systems have down since Tuesday morning and it could take several more days for the ticketing site to be restored, according to the Met General Manager Peter Gelb.

"It takes time, because when you have been hacked, you have to be sure that whatever functions are going back online are not going to be compromised," he said.

The motive or identity of the hackers hasn't yet been determined. The Met is working with cybersecurity experts and the FBI is aware of the attack.

Lincoln Center had tickets to Met performances available Friday for $50 a ticket.

A statement on that site said: "The Metropolitan Opera has experienced a cyberattack that has temporarily impacted network systems, which include the website, box office, and call center. All performances will take place as scheduled; however, at this time, the Met box office is unable to process new ticket orders or facilitate exchanges and refunds."

The cyberattack hit the Met's box office, call center and website, which normally process over $200,000 in ticket sales each day.