Page 13 - GBC Fall English 2025 flipbook

When most people think about
golf courses, they picture beautiful
fairways, busy tee times and loyal
members – not digital threats.
However, cybercriminals increas-
ingly see golf operations as easy
targets. From ransomware attacks
that shut down booking systems,
to data breaches that could expose
members’ financial and personal
information, the risks are real – and
growing.
Despite handling sensitive
data and running complex software
systems, many golf facilities lack
the IT infrastructure, staff training
or leadership buy-in needed to
defend against today’s threats. This
article explores why golf courses
are vulnerable, what is at stake for
your business, how cyberattacks
happen, and most importantly,
what you can do to prevent them.
WHY GOLF COURSES ARE A
TARGET
Golf courses often have minimal IT
infrastructure and lack full-time
security staff. That makes golf
courses easy targets for hackers. It
may be the case that someone with
limited IT experience handled
setup, relying on free or low-cost
tools. This can also lead to
significant vulnerabilities. To put
things into perspective, when
conducting an ethical hacking
“Overlooking the
importance of the data
you cannot access
for now, imagine not
being able to log into
the booking system,
the accounting system,
food and beverage,
catering, events
or other software
programs because
all your computers
are infected with
ransomware. “
audit on a medium or large
enterprise corporation, it usually
takes between 24 and 72 hours for
my team to penetrate the customers’
computer systems whereby
allowing them complete and
unfettered access.
Keep in mind that many of
these corporations have full-time
security staff and have spent tens
and even hundreds of thousands of
dollars defending their networks.
That said, many ambitious hackers
would be slowed down or stopped
in their tracks when faced with the
defenses these corporations put up.
We know that proper security
measures may thwart an attack on
a properly secured corporation but
the same hackers will have a hay
day on a smaller less prepared
company such as a golf club or
other private business.
So, what is at risk? You may
think you have nothing of value to
a hacker. Let’s consider a couple of
scenarios.
SCENARIO 1: RANSOMWARE
ATTACK
In a ransomware attack, computers,
servers, and whatever system
ransomware attacks are rendered
inoperable, meaning they become
figurative plastic and aluminum
paperweight. No longer can you
use it to access, receive, transmit
data, programs etc., on your
computer or networked device.
Overlooking the importance of
the data you cannot access for now,
imagine not being able to log into
the booking system, the accounting
system, food and beverage,
catering, events or other software
programs because all your
computers are infected with
ransomware. No problem you say,
you will pay the ransom and then
gain access to your data and
computer systems again. If you are
one of the very few lucky victims
that get your data back you are
Golf Business Canada 13