According to the New York Times, the FBI is investigating St. Louis Cardinals officials for hacking into the Houston Astros internal networks.
The St. Louis Cardinals are being investigated by the FBI and the U.S. Justice Department for possibly hacking into the internal network of the Houston Astros to steal information on player personnel, the New York Times has reported.
(Screenshot: SI.com)
What happened? Investigators have come across evidence that the Cardinals front office staff may have broken into the network of the Astros, which housed a number of special databases. According to officials, internal discussions around trades, proprietary stats and scouting reports were among the information compromised.
How did it happen? The intrusion does not appear to be sophisticated, law enforcement officials have noted. According to the New York Times, the FBI believes Cardinals personnel gained access to the Astros’ system by using a list of passwords associated with Astros general manager Jeff Luhnow dating to his tenure with the Cardinals from 2003 until he left for Houston after the 2011 season.
What they’re saying: MLB has shared that it has fully cooperated fully the ongoing investigation, which began last year after data was posted anonymously online. According to the statement, “Major League Baseball has been aware of and has fully cooperated with the federal investigation into the illegal breach of the Astros’ baseball operations database. Once the investigative process has been completed by federal law enforcement officials, we will evaluate the next steps and will make decisions promptly.”
The professional sports world has seen everything form Spygate to Deflateglate in recent months, but perhaps this cyberattack marks the start of the next wave of cheats. This latest high-profile incident comes amid growing concerns that even the most trusted sites and systems can be used by hackers aimed at infiltrating sensitive industries. With the number of breaches on the rise and no apparent end in sight, how can you ensure that your network and its data are protected?
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