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Report: PGA hit with ransomware attack on eve of major tournament

According to GolfWeek, PGA employees found they were locked out of systems Tuesday, with a message asking for bitcoin.
PGA ransomware attack
The attack comes on the eve of the PGA Championship, one of golf's four major tournaments. (Courtesy of PGA)

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.”

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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.

Greg Otto

Written by Greg Otto

Greg Otto is Editor-in-Chief of CyberScoop, overseeing all editorial content for the website. Greg has led cybersecurity coverage that has won various awards, including accolades from the Society of Professional Journalists and the American Society of Business Publication Editors. Prior to joining Scoop News Group, Greg worked for the Washington Business Journal, U.S. News & World Report and WTOP Radio. He has a degree in broadcast journalism from Temple University.

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