The FBI is investigating the St. Louis Cardinals for hacking into the Houston Astros' secure databases
The FBI's Houston field office is investigating several unnamed St. Louis Cardinals officials for allegedly hacking into the Houston Astros' secure databases, The New York Times reports.
Investigators said they believe the cyberattack was carried out by Cardinals officials upset at Jeff Luhnow, who left St. Louis in 2011 to become the Astros' general manager. Luhnow had implemented a secure, internal network with the Cardinals called Redbird, which held information on the team's scouting reports, trades, and other private player and team information. He developed a similar database for the Astros, called Ground Control. FBI officials say they believe front-office Cardinals workers found an old, master list of passwords from Luhnow's time in St. Louis, and used those passwords to hack into the Astros' database; law enforcement officials noted the hack was not particularly sophisticated, and that they had already traced the breach to a computer in a house where Cards officials had lived.
Information from the breach first appeared anonymously online in 2014; Major League Baseball officials originally assumed an independent hacker was to blame and contacted the FBI. A spokesman for MLB said the organization "has been aware of and has fully cooperated with the federal investigation."
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
No Cardinals officials have yet been suspended or fired.
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Create an account with the same email registered to your subscription to unlock access.
Sarah Eberspacher is an associate editor at TheWeek.com. She has previously worked as a sports reporter at The Livingston County Daily Press & Argus and The Arizona Republic. She graduated from Northwestern University's Medill School of Journalism.
-
'Another day of chaos in DC'
Today's Newspapers A roundup of the headlines from the US front pages
By The Week Staff Published
-
6 scenic white water rafting destinations to get your heart racing
The Week Recommends Have a rip-roaring time on the water
By Catherine Garcia, The Week US Published
-
Dangerous substances in Lunchables are raising concerns over children's health
In the Spotlight High levels of lead and sodium were recently found in the snack packages
By Justin Klawans, The Week US Published
-
Puffed rice and yoga: inside the collapsed tunnel where Indian workers await rescue
Speed Read Workers trapped in collapsed tunnel are suffering from dysentery and anxiety over their rescue
By Sorcha Bradley, The Week UK Published
-
More than 2,000 dead following massive earthquake in Morocco
Speed Read
By Justin Klawans Published
-
Mexico's next president will almost certainly be its 1st female president
Speed Read
By Peter Weber Published
-
North Korea's Kim to visit Putin in eastern Russia to discuss arms sales for Ukraine war, U.S. says
Speed Read
By Peter Weber Published
-
Gabon's military leader sworn in following coup in latest African uprising
Speed Read
By Justin Klawans Published
-
Nobody seems surprised Wagner's Prigozhin died under suspicious circumstances
Speed Read
By Peter Weber Published
-
Western mountain climbers allegedly left Pakistani porter to die on K2
Speed Read
By Justin Klawans Published
-
'Circular saw blades' divide controversial Rio Grande buoys installed by Texas governor
Speed Read
By Peter Weber Published