Cardinals St. Louis Cardinals front office under FBI investigation for hacking - Page 12

ReynardMuldrake · 06-16-2015, 09:19 AM

WASHINGTON — The F.B.I. and Justice Department prosecutors are investigating front-office officials for the St. Louis Cardinals, one of the most successful teams in baseball over the past two decades, for hacking into the internal networks of a rival team to steal closely guarded information about player personnel.

Investigators have uncovered evidence that Cardinals officials broke into a network of the Houston Astros that housed special databases the team had built, according to law enforcement officials. Internal discussions about trades, proprietary statistics and scouting reports were compromised, the officials said.

The officials did not say which employees were the focus of the investigation or whether the team’s highest-ranking officials were aware of the hacking or authorized it. The investigation is being led by the F.B.I.’s Houston field office and has progressed to the point that subpoenas have been served on the Cardinals and Major League Baseball for electronic correspondence.

The Houston Astros hired Luhnow as general manager in December 2011. Before then he had been a successful and polarizing executive with the Cardinals. Credit David J. Phillip/Associated Press
The attack represents the first known case of corporate espionage in which a professional sports team has hacked the network of another team. Illegal intrusions into companies’ networks have become commonplace, but it is generally conducted by hackers operating in foreign countries, like Russia and China, who steal large tranches of data or trade secrets for military equipment and electronics.

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,” a spokesman for baseball’s commissioner, Rob Manfred, said in a written statement.

The Cardinals officials under investigation have not been put on leave, suspended or fired. The commissioner’s office is likely to wait until the conclusion of the government’s investigation to determine whether to take disciplinary action against the officials or the team.

The case is a rare mark of ignominy for the Cardinals, one of the sport’s most revered and popular organizations. The team has the best record in baseball this season (42-21), regularly commands outsize television ratings and has reached the National League Championship Series nine times since 2000. The Cardinals, who last won the World Series in 2011, have 11 titles over all, second only to the Yankees.

Their owner, Bill DeWitt, is a highly regarded executive who last year was in charge of the search committee for a new commissioner to replace the retiring Bud Selig.

Law enforcement officials believe the hacking was executed by vengeful front-office employees for the Cardinals hoping to wreak havoc on the work of Jeff Luhnow, the Astros’ general manager who had been a successful and polarizing executive with the Cardinals until 2011.

From 1994 to 2012, the Astros and the Cardinals were division rivals, in the National League. For a part of that time, Mr. Luhnow was a Cardinals executive, primarily handling scouting and player development. One of many innovative thinkers drawn to the sport by the “Moneyball” phenomenon, he was credited with building baseball’s best minor league system, as well as drafting several players who would become linchpins of the Cardinals’ 2011 World Series-winning team.

The Astros hired Mr. Luhnow as general manager in December 2011, and he quickly began applying his unconventional approach to running a baseball team. In an exploration of the team’s radical transformation, Bloomberg Business called it “a project unlike anything baseball has seen before.”

Under Mr. Luhnow, the Astros have accomplished a striking turnaround; they are in first place in the American League West division. But in 2013, before their revival at the major league level, their internal deliberations about statistics and players were compromised, law enforcement officials said.

The intrusion did not appear to be sophisticated, the law enforcement officials said. When Mr. Luhnow was with the Cardinals, the organization built a computer network, called Redbird, to house all of their baseball operations information — including scouting reports and player personnel information. After leaving to join the Astros, and bringing some front-office personnel with him from the Cardinals, Houston created a similar program known as Ground Control.

Ground Control contained the Astros’ “collective baseball knowledge,” according to a Bloomberg Business article published last year. The program took a series of variables and “weights them according to the values determined by the team’s statisticians, physicist, doctors, scouts and coaches,” the article said.

Investigators believe Cardinals officials, concerned that Mr. Luhnow had taken their idea and proprietary baseball information to the Astros, examined a master list of passwords used by Mr. Luhnow and the other officials who had joined the Astros when they worked for the Cardinals. The Cardinals officials are believed to have used those passwords to gain access to the Astros’ network, law enforcement officials said.

Last year, some of the information was posted anonymously online, according to an article on Deadspin. Among the details that were exposed were trade discussions that the Astros had with other teams. Mr. Luhnow was asked at the time whether the breach would affect how he dealt with other teams. “Today I used a pencil and paper in all my conversations,” he said.

Believing that the Astros’ network had been compromised by a rogue hacker, Major League Baseball notified the F.B.I., and the authorities in Houston opened an investigation. Agents soon found that the Astros’ network had been entered from a computer at a home that some Cardinals officials had lived in. The agents then turned their attention to the team’s front office.

http://www.nytimes.com/2015/06/17/sp...id=tw-bna&_r=0

**OnTheWarpath15** · 06-16-2015, 05:04 PM

Next favorite tweet:

Turns out the Cardinals were doing nothing more than trying to find Brett Wallace.

-Dan O'Neill

Sassy Squatch · 06-16-2015, 05:20 PM

Anyone else find it hilarious that bambi slunk out of the conference shit talk thread only to post about Mizzou in a thread that literally had nothing to do with them?

George Liquor · 06-16-2015, 05:30 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Superturtle

Anyone else find it hilarious that bambi slunk out of the conference shit talk thread only to post about Mizzou in a thread that literally had nothing to do with them?

I was gonna point that out.. But he isn't worth the time.

Marcellus · 06-16-2015, 07:10 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by OnTheWarpath58

Next favorite tweet:

Turns out the Cardinals were doing nothing more than trying to find Brett Wallace.

-Dan O'Neill

what happened to that guy anyway?

**Anyong Bluth** · 06-16-2015, 07:27 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Amnorix

Except it might not have been ANY air. The physical evidence is weak as hell. Heck, the New York Times, relying on an independent research report, blew the Wells Report out of the water.

http://www.nytimes.com/2015/06/14/op...gate.html?_r=0

http://www.aei.org/publication/on-wells-report/

https://www.aei.org/wp-content/uploa...lls-report.pdf

Big punchline:

Take it back to the Patriots thread. I don't want to rehash this shit here.
There is going to be plenty of juicy dirt making its way to the news cycle to keep this thread nice and fat on its own.

Not to mention, given the geographic proximity and members of CP that root for said club, the responses should be priceless or dead silence.

ChiefsCountry · 06-16-2015, 07:40 PM

**Anyong Bluth** · 06-16-2015, 07:51 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ChiefsCountry

.

Remember, remember...

When we used to play in October.

**BigRedChief** · 06-16-2015, 08:09 PM

This culture of old school vs. new school stat guys bites us in the ass again.

I hope this was some low level tech ****ing with Ludlow and not directed by management. But, even it was just a low level 20 something doing it all, no one will believe it. Stupid ass decision by whoever thats for sure.

Whoever knew about this or participated in it needs to be fired by the cardinals at the minimum. Even if we lose a top 5 GM.

This shit stains a long storied and proud franchise. Stan the man wore the Birds on Bat for crissakes. The current management are care takers of the high bar. Tremendous lack of respect for the fans. Shame on all involved.

**Anyong Bluth** · 06-16-2015, 08:31 PM

Cardinals Announce Replacement GM with Previous Experience in Counterintelligence

**Bowser** · 06-16-2015, 09:34 PM

In Soviet Russia, Cardinals hack YOU

**ChiTown** · 06-16-2015, 09:53 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by BigRedChief

This culture of old school vs. new school stat guys bites us in the ass again.

I hope this was some low level tech ****ing with Ludlow and not directed by management. But, even it was just a low level 20 something doing it all, no one will believe it. Stupid ass decision by whoever thats for sure.

Whoever knew about this or participated in it needs to be fired by the cardinals at the minimum. Even if we lose a top 5 GM.

This shit stains a long storied and proud franchise. Stan the man wore the Birds on Bat for crissakes. The current management are care takers of the high bar. Tremendous lack of respect for the fans. Shame on all involved.

I'm sorry, I really am, but

at this post.

'Hamas' Jenkins · 06-16-2015, 10:03 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Anyong Bluth

Cardinals Announce Replacement GM with Previous Experience in Counterintelligence

Given that we've basically annexed Kauffman for 20 years, Putin would fit right in.

Discuss Thrower · 06-16-2015, 10:03 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Superturtle

Anyone else find it hilarious that bambi slunk out of the conference shit talk thread only to post about Mizzou in a thread that literally had nothing to do with them?

Nothing was funny about that. Just incredibly sad.

rtmike · 06-16-2015, 10:57 PM

World Champions St. Louis Cardinals*

too soon?

**007** · 06-17-2015, 02:22 AM

Theres no hacking in baseball.

Well, there is but, you know...

06-16-2015, 09:19 AM
ReynardMuldrake 2 Legit 2 Colquitt Join Date: Sep 2010 Casino cash: $2155754	St. Louis Cardinals front office under FBI investigation for hacking WASHINGTON — The F.B.I. and Justice Department prosecutors are investigating front-office officials for the St. Louis Cardinals, one of the most successful teams in baseball over the past two decades, for hacking into the internal networks of a rival team to steal closely guarded information about player personnel. Investigators have uncovered evidence that Cardinals officials broke into a network of the Houston Astros that housed special databases the team had built, according to law enforcement officials. Internal discussions about trades, proprietary statistics and scouting reports were compromised, the officials said. The officials did not say which employees were the focus of the investigation or whether the team’s highest-ranking officials were aware of the hacking or authorized it. The investigation is being led by the F.B.I.’s Houston field office and has progressed to the point that subpoenas have been served on the Cardinals and Major League Baseball for electronic correspondence. The Houston Astros hired Luhnow as general manager in December 2011. Before then he had been a successful and polarizing executive with the Cardinals. Credit David J. Phillip/Associated Press The attack represents the first known case of corporate espionage in which a professional sports team has hacked the network of another team. Illegal intrusions into companies’ networks have become commonplace, but it is generally conducted by hackers operating in foreign countries, like Russia and China, who steal large tranches of data or trade secrets for military equipment and electronics. 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,” a spokesman for baseball’s commissioner, Rob Manfred, said in a written statement. The Cardinals officials under investigation have not been put on leave, suspended or fired. The commissioner’s office is likely to wait until the conclusion of the government’s investigation to determine whether to take disciplinary action against the officials or the team. The case is a rare mark of ignominy for the Cardinals, one of the sport’s most revered and popular organizations. The team has the best record in baseball this season (42-21), regularly commands outsize television ratings and has reached the National League Championship Series nine times since 2000. The Cardinals, who last won the World Series in 2011, have 11 titles over all, second only to the Yankees. Their owner, Bill DeWitt, is a highly regarded executive who last year was in charge of the search committee for a new commissioner to replace the retiring Bud Selig. Law enforcement officials believe the hacking was executed by vengeful front-office employees for the Cardinals hoping to wreak havoc on the work of Jeff Luhnow, the Astros’ general manager who had been a successful and polarizing executive with the Cardinals until 2011. From 1994 to 2012, the Astros and the Cardinals were division rivals, in the National League. For a part of that time, Mr. Luhnow was a Cardinals executive, primarily handling scouting and player development. One of many innovative thinkers drawn to the sport by the “Moneyball” phenomenon, he was credited with building baseball’s best minor league system, as well as drafting several players who would become linchpins of the Cardinals’ 2011 World Series-winning team. The Astros hired Mr. Luhnow as general manager in December 2011, and he quickly began applying his unconventional approach to running a baseball team. In an exploration of the team’s radical transformation, Bloomberg Business called it “a project unlike anything baseball has seen before.” Under Mr. Luhnow, the Astros have accomplished a striking turnaround; they are in first place in the American League West division. But in 2013, before their revival at the major league level, their internal deliberations about statistics and players were compromised, law enforcement officials said. The intrusion did not appear to be sophisticated, the law enforcement officials said. When Mr. Luhnow was with the Cardinals, the organization built a computer network, called Redbird, to house all of their baseball operations information — including scouting reports and player personnel information. After leaving to join the Astros, and bringing some front-office personnel with him from the Cardinals, Houston created a similar program known as Ground Control. Ground Control contained the Astros’ “collective baseball knowledge,” according to a Bloomberg Business article published last year. The program took a series of variables and “weights them according to the values determined by the team’s statisticians, physicist, doctors, scouts and coaches,” the article said. Investigators believe Cardinals officials, concerned that Mr. Luhnow had taken their idea and proprietary baseball information to the Astros, examined a master list of passwords used by Mr. Luhnow and the other officials who had joined the Astros when they worked for the Cardinals. The Cardinals officials are believed to have used those passwords to gain access to the Astros’ network, law enforcement officials said. Last year, some of the information was posted anonymously online, according to an article on Deadspin. Among the details that were exposed were trade discussions that the Astros had with other teams. Mr. Luhnow was asked at the time whether the breach would affect how he dealt with other teams. “Today I used a pencil and paper in all my conversations,” he said. Believing that the Astros’ network had been compromised by a rogue hacker, Major League Baseball notified the F.B.I., and the authorities in Houston opened an investigation. Agents soon found that the Astros’ network had been entered from a computer at a home that some Cardinals officials had lived in. The agents then turned their attention to the team’s front office. http://www.nytimes.com/2015/06/17/sp...id=tw-bna&_r=0
Posts: 4,899

06-16-2015, 05:04 PM	#166
OnTheWarpath15 MVP Join Date: Sep 2005 Casino cash: $2051115	Next favorite tweet: Turns out the Cardinals were doing nothing more than trying to find Brett Wallace. -Dan O'Neill
Posts: 60,758

06-16-2015, 05:20 PM	#167
Sassy Squatch The man you could post like. Join Date: Oct 2010 Casino cash: $-1480345	Anyone else find it hilarious that bambi slunk out of the conference shit talk thread only to post about Mizzou in a thread that literally had nothing to do with them?
Posts: 42,108

06-16-2015, 07:40 PM	#171
ChiefsCountry The Insider Join Date: Jan 2004 Location: Lake of the Ozarks Casino cash: $-1621248	. Attached Thumbnails
Posts: 52,171

06-16-2015, 08:09 PM	#173
BigRedChief Has a particular set of skills Join Date: Dec 2003 Location: On the water Casino cash: $-821038 VARSITY	This culture of old school vs. new school stat guys bites us in the ass again. I hope this was some low level tech ****ing with Ludlow and not directed by management. But, even it was just a low level 20 something doing it all, no one will believe it. Stupid ass decision by whoever thats for sure. Whoever knew about this or participated in it needs to be fired by the cardinals at the minimum. Even if we lose a top 5 GM. This shit stains a long storied and proud franchise. Stan the man wore the Birds on Bat for crissakes. The current management are care takers of the high bar. Tremendous lack of respect for the fans. Shame on all involved. __________________ Mahomes is not a game manager. Release the Kraken.
Posts: 81,362

06-16-2015, 08:31 PM	#174
Anyong Bluth Deus ambulans inter homines Join Date: Mar 2005 Location: Chicago Casino cash: $9439340	Cardinals Announce Replacement GM with Previous Experience in Counterintelligence __________________ Suck it, *beautiful*
Posts: 14,938

06-16-2015, 09:34 PM	#175
Bowser sorta mod-ish Join Date: Jan 2004 Location: KC North Casino cash: $-238384	In Soviet Russia, Cardinals hack YOU
Posts: 106,915

06-16-2015, 10:57 PM	#179
rtmike union paraplegic organizer Join Date: Sep 2005 Location: western Kansas Casino cash: $8590000	World Champions St. Louis Cardinals* too soon? __________________ I like to sleep For I'm walking in my dreams. Live life like every DAY is your last!
Posts: 3,116

06-17-2015, 02:22 AM	#180
007 Shaken. Not stirred. Join Date: Sep 2002 Location: London Casino cash: $12130126 VARSITY	Theres no hacking in baseball. Well, there is but, you know... __________________ My dear girl, there are some things that just aren’t done. Such as, drinking Dom Perignon ’53 above the temperature of 38 degrees Fahrenheit. That’s just as bad as listening to the Beatles without earmuffs.
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