A St. Louis Cardinals hacking investigation is underway after the MLB team's front-office officials were accused of breaking into the Houston Astros' internal computer network to steal personnel information.
According to The New York Times, the investigators discovered evidence, which suggests that Cardinals officials hacked into the Astros’ closely guarded databases and compromised sensitive information pertaining to trades, proprietary statistics, and scouting reports. Subsequently, subpoenas have now been issued to both the Cardinals and the MLB for their electronic correspondences to aid in the investigation.
This scandal marks the first known case of corporate espionage involving one professional sports team hacking into the network databases of another team, The Times reported. The authorities have not yet revealed the names of any specific officials under investigation.
The Astros’ database, which is referred to as “Ground Control,”
received publicity when a 2014 Deadspin report revealed that the network, though impressive, lacked strong password protection, and was thus susceptible to a hack attack. The report further maintained that 10 months’ worth of the Astros’ information was posted on an anonymous website for hackers to share their leaked information.
After this information leak surfaced, the Astros released a statement in which they said, “While it does appear that some of the content released was based on trade conversations, a portion of the material was embellished or
completely fabricated,” according to The Washington Post.
After the Astros informed the FBI of the hacking, thinking it was the work of a rogue hacker, the FBI traced the leaks back to a home computer belonging to some Cardinals officials, according to The Post. Although the officials still haven’t been publicly named, the commissioner’s office will most likely wait to take disciplinary action until the investigation has concluded, The Times noted.
The Cardinals, who currently hold the best record in baseball with 42-21, have reached the National League Championship Series nine times since 2000, according to The New York Times.