ST. LOUIS — Bellerive Country Club is welcoming the PGA Championship this weekend, but it may not go as smoothly as the PGA thought.
According to a report in Golfweek, the employees realized the PGA's computer system was compromised Tuesday morning. The report said they were met with a sinister message when trying to access files.
“Your network has been penetrated. All files on each host in the network have been encrypted with a strong algorythm [sic].”
According to the report, the message went on to say any attempt to access the files could result in the loss of all the files.
So what could the hack change?
The report says the system contained creative materials for this weekend's PGA Championship and next month's Ryder Cup. That means promotional banners and logos in digital and print communications as well as digital signs.
The hackers' message made it clear what they wanted: Bitcoin.
The hackers said they were the only ones who could decrypt the files and said they would do it in exchange for the digital currency. They provided a Bitcoin wallet number to transfer to, but Bitcoin wallets are not linked to a particular person and can't be used to identify a suspect.
Golfweek said a PGA source told them the PGA did not intend to meed the hackers' demands. The PGA did not provide Golfweek with a comment because it is an ongoing situation.
