Report: PGA hit with ransomware attack on eve of major tournament
The Professional Golfers Association of America has been hit with a ransomware attack, locking employees out of crucial files hours before the start of the association’s namesake tournament.
According to GolfWeek, PGA employees found they were locked out of systems Tuesday that housed various banners, logos and signage to be used for the upcoming PGA Championship. The tournament, which starts Thursday at Bellerive Country Club in St. Louis, is one professional golf most prestigious tournaments.
Employees were also locked out of similar files related to the upcoming Ryder Cup, a golf competition between teams from Europe and the United States.
“Your network has been penetrated,” a message on PGA-owned computers read. “All files on each host in the network have been encrypted with a strong algorythm [sic]. We exclusively have decryption software for your situation. No decryption software is available in the public.”
The attackers asked for a unidentified amount of bitcoin in order to decrypt the files.
According to GolfWeek, the stolen files also include development work on logos for future PGA Championships. That work was ongoing, with some files more than a year old and cannot be easily replicated.
The PGA declined to comment to multiple publications, including CyberScoop, saying it was still going through an investigation.
