Sports

St. Louis Cardinals Under Investigation by the FBI for Hacking the Houston Astros

Published

9 years ago

June 23, 2015

Special to the NNPA from the Houston Forward Times

The FBI and Justice Department are investigating members of the front office of the St. Louis Cardinals to determine whether the organization hacked the computer network of the Houston Astros in order to steal player personnel information.

An investigation is “ongoing,” a federal law enforcement official told The Post’s Ellen Nakashima. There’s “a lot of work going into” the investigation, said the official, who spoke on condition of anonymity because the probe is underway.

Generally speaking, officials and experts say, the tools to hack someone else’s network are readily available online. “By itself, it doesn’t represent anything illegal,” the official said. But once a person intrudes into another person’s computer system without permission, “you’ve crossed the magical line,” the official said. Accessing someone’s computer without authorization is a federal crime under the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act.

This is the first suspected case of corporate espionage in which a professional sports team has allegedly hacked the network of another team, according to the New York Times, which first reported the investigation.

Officials told the Times that they have uncovered evidence that Cardinals officials hacked the Astros’ database, known as Ground Control, and obtained information and internal discussions about trades, proprietary statistics and scouting reports. The names of the officials under investigation were not revealed. The Cardinals, who have the best record in baseball this season and are one of the sport’s most successful teams since the turn of this century, said in a statement that they have “fully cooperated with the investigation and will continue to do so. Given that this is an ongoing federal investigation, it is not appropriate for us to comment further.”

Major League Baseball said in a statement that it “has fully cooperated with the federal investigation,” adding “Once the investigative process has been completed by federal law enforcement officials, we will evaluate the next steps and will make decisions promptly.”

How serious is a cybersecurity breach in a sport with a rich history of stolen signs, illegal pitches and corked bats? An executive with another team, who asked to remain anonymous because of the ongoing investigation, told The Post that such a breach would be taken extremely seriously.

“There’s so much proprietary analysis, and the teams that do this sort of thing each have their own magic, secret formula for how they evaluate players, people, systems – all kinds of things,” the executive said. “For another team to have that, for whatever their purposes, is an unbelievable advantage for the other team.”

A former executive who also asked for anonymity told the Post: “It’s like the Coke formula. You don’t want Pepsi to have it.”

Such information, multiple current and former executives said, could be used in a wide range of ways – to know what players a franchise valued in trades; to learn different scouting methods; to raise a flag about players they hadn’t scouted and might want to get someone to see.

“If you’re running an organization and a scouting department, and you’ve got mixed reports on Player X, and you have access to the Astros’ system, you might say, ‘I wonder what they think of the guy,’ ” one source said. “And they’re spending millions to have that be protected. You’re the only team that’s supposed to have it.”

In trade discussions, access to this kind of information could provide a window into an organization’s thinking.

“If you know what the Astros are doing every minute, then you can be the behind-the-scenes guy to either help a deal get done by becoming a third team, or you could head them off and get something done yourself,” another current executive said. “You might find out certain guys were available from the Astros that you thought were untouchable. You might find out what kinds of players Houston is offering and what kind of players the Tigers, say, are rejecting, and you might be able to find a match for yourself to get something done with the Tigers.”

Documents purportedly taken from Ground Control and showing 10 months’ worth of the Astros’ internal trade chatter have been posted online at Anonbin, a site where users can anonymously share hacked or leaked information. …[T]hey contain the Astros front office’s communications regarding trade overtures to and from other teams, as well as negotiations—a few of which actually led to trades. You will find heavy efforts to get a big haul for Bud Norris at last year’s trade deadline (before settling for very little), pushes to acquire touted young talents like Dylan Bundy and Gregory Polanco, and even evidence the Astros rejected out of hand a blockbuster deal that could have brought them Giancarlo Stanton.

Not long after that breach and the Deadspin report, the Astros acknowledged a security problem and Deadspin reported that the FBI was on the case.

The Cardinals and Astros played in the same division of the National League from 1994 to 2012, and the Astros, now in the American League, now lead the West Division by 2 1/2 games. Jeff Luhnow, a former executive handling scouting and player development in St. Louis, was described by the Times’ Michael S. Schmidt as “one of many innovative thinkers drawn to the sport by the ‘Moneyball’ phenomenon,” and Schmidt notes that “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.”

Luhnow was named Astros general manager in December 2011 and began a dramatic technological overhaul of the organization, building a database to outperform “Redbird,” which he’d built in St. Louis. The overhaul was so extensive that the Times notes that Bloomberg Business called it “a project unlike anything baseball has seen before.” Luhnow, who ran tech companies before getting into baseball, joined the Astros and put together a 25-page plan detailing how the database, dubbed “Ground Control,” would be built from scratch and tailored to the team’s needs.

“Information goes from club to club,” Luhnow said. “We need to be aware of that. But, also, information gets dated pretty quickly. … Our strategy, starting from [owner] Jim [Crane] down, is we want to be transparent enough to our fans to where they feel like they’re involved but at the same time not give away any proprietary information.”

Sounds secure, but there was a flaw. According to the Times report, investigators believe Cardinals officials gained access by looking over a master list of passwords used by Luhnow and others who went to the Astros during their time in St. Louis. Major League Baseball notified the FBI when it became concerned that the network had been the victim of a rogue hacker, according to the Times, and agents discovered that the network had been entered from a computer at a home occupied by some Cardinals officials. They were seeking to “wreak havoc,” according to the Times, on Luhnow’s work.

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Bay Area

Love Life Organization Shows Love

As part of Love Life Week, the Love Life Foundation was honored to produce the 1974-75 World Champion Golden State Warrior Day. It’s a shame that our first Bay Area World Championship team’s unique accolades had been lost in the pre social media era and the cultural revolution of the 1970s.

Published

5 days ago

October 28, 2024

Oakland Post

Members of the 1975 NBA championship team, Charles Dudley (left) and Clifford Ray (right) embrace Love Life Foundation leader Donald Lacy for his antiviolence mission. Courtesy photo.

City of Oakland Celebrates 1975 NBA World Championship Team

By Donald Lacy

Special to The Post

As part of Love Life Week, the Love Life Foundation was honored to produce the 1974-75 World Champion Golden State Warrior Day.

It’s a shame that our first Bay Area World Championship team’s unique accolades had been lost in the pre social media era and the cultural revolution of the 1970s.

The 1975 NBA World Championship team were invited back to the City of Oakland last Friday, to be properly celebrated for their ground-breaking performance in 1975.

The heartwarming ceremony highlighted the recent passing of the legendary coach of that team, Al Attlles, and his former players Clifford Ray and Charles Dudley were on hand to represent the “Cardiac Kids” as they were called back then for their ability to make great comeback victories during their run for the title.

Warriors great Chris Mullin and former spiritual advisor Gary Reeves gave heartfelt testimonies of their experiences under Attles’ leadership and their relationship with the inspiration they received from the NBA 1975 World Champion Golden State Warriors.

The City of Oakland provided proclamations to all parties with speeches made by city leadership including Mayor Sheng Thao and Deputy Mayor Dr. Kimberly Mayfield and activity host Love Life non-profit founder and Executive Director Donald E. Lacy Jr..

There will be a celebration of life event Nov. 9 honoring Attles’ legacy at Alameda College.

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California Black Media

Several Black Californians Are Playing Key Roles in LA 28 Olympics Planning

From politicians and businesspeople to athletes and community leaders, a number of Black Californians are contributing to the thought leadership that is shaping the planning of LA28, the 2028 Olympic Games in Los Angeles. At the forefront is Los Angeles’ first Black woman mayor, Karen Bass, who has, in many ways, become the face of the Games in the City of Angels.

Published

2 weeks ago

October 22, 2024

Oakland Post

From left to right: IOC Member Hong Zhang, IOC Vice President Nicole Hoevertsz, Rex Richardson, Mayor of Long Beach, LA28 President Casey Wasserman, James T. Butts, Mayor of Inglewood, IOC President Thomas Bach, Marqueece Harris-Dawson, the President of the Los Angeles City Council (IOC/Greg Martin)

By Lila Brown, California Black Media

At the forefront is Los Angeles’ first Black woman mayor, Karen Bass, who has, in many ways, become the face of the Games in the City of Angels.

“The 2028 Games present an incredible opportunity to unite our city and lift up every corner of Los Angeles,” said Bass during a historic event at Los Angeles City Hall on Sept. 13, when the Olympic and Paralympic flags were unveiled and installed.

The event marked the return of the Olympic flag to L.A. since 1984, when the city hosted the Olympics for the second time. It was the first time the Paralympic flag was raised in California’s largest city.

“From creating jobs to supporting small businesses, we are committed to ensuring that these Games benefit all Angelenos — not just for the summer of 2028, but for decades to come,” Bass added.

Nearly two months after the Olympic flag handover from Paris to Los Angeles, International Olympic Committee (IOC) President Thomas Bach visited Los Angeles.

Bach toured several of the city’s newest world-class sporting venues, including the SoFi Stadium and the recently opened Intuit Dome, both located in Inglewood. At the stadiums, he was joined by two other Los Angeles County Black mayors, whose cities will be key to hosting LA28 events: Inglewood Mayor James T. Butts and Long Beach Mayor Rex Richardson.

SoFi Stadium, known as the home of NFL teams the LA Rams and LA Chargers, will host swimming competitions during the LA28 Games, with a temporary pool set to make it the largest swimming venue in Olympic history, boasting 38,000 seats. Intuit Dome, Inglewood’s newest state-of-the-art venue and home to the LA Clippers, will host the Olympic basketball tournament in the 18,000-seat arena.

In an interview with California Black Media ( CBM), Butts highlighted Inglewood’s central role in the upcoming Games, stating, “Inglewood will host the Opening and Closing ceremonies, basketball, and swimming competitions of the 2028 Olympic Games. This will be our second hosting of Olympic Basketball, the first in 1984.”

Marqueece Harris-Dawson, President of the Los Angeles City Council, also attended the tour.

Harris-Dawson is one of the leading backers of PlayLA, a parks development program that promises to provide sports programming to “young Angelenos of all abilities.” The initiative is funded by a $160 million investment from the LA28 Olympic and Paralympic Games and the International Olympic Committee.

Black Californians serving on the LA28 Board include Businesswoman Mellody Hobson; decorated Paralympian Lex Gillette; former Netflix Executive Dana Smith; President of the LA County Federation of Labor AFL-CIO Yvonne Wheeler; and television host, retired sprinter and four-time Olympic champion Michael Johnson.

Rosalyn Brant Clark, a 1976 Olympic silver medalist and mother of three-time Paralympian Breanna Clark, said while the “Games for All” theme is promising, she is looking for more concrete action that impacts the lives of ordinary people, including Black Californians.

“They are going to need to show me more on that one before it gets my stamp of approval,” she added, challenging organizers to ensure genuine inclusivity.

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Bay Area

Ohemaa Nyanin Named GM of Valkyries WNBA Team

The Bay Area is filled with excitement, and much of the conversation is about the Bay Area’s newest WNBA team — the VALKYRIES! The Golden State Warriors were awarded the 13th team in the WNBA last October, and just four months ago, the team’s General Manager was announced — Ohemaa Nyanin.

Published

2 weeks ago

October 22, 2024

Oakland Post

Getty Images

By Y’Anad Burrell

Nyanin’s parents are from Ghana, and she was born in Maryland. Nyanin’s experience in this industry precedes her both as a former college player and on the business side. Nyanin is an American University alumna who played on the Eagles’ women’s basketball team. In 2019, Nyanain joined the WNBA team, The New York Liberty, initially serving as the director of basketball operations before she became assistant general manager.

“No excuses,” Nyanin said. “We are here, first and foremost, as humans, and secondly to win basketball games. So how do we do that, and how do we do that in the most inclusive way?”

From viewing interviews that Nyanin has done since her arrival in the Bay Area, a constant theme in her conversations is talking about taking a “people first” approach. Nyanin talks about how she will be focused on the players, staff, and fans as she navigates and executes her role as general manager. Health, both mentally and physically, is important to Nyanin, as I’ve seen in her many interviews.

Just days ago, The Golden State Warriors announced the head coach for the Valkyries — Natalie Nakase.

Nakase has been the assistant coach for the Las Vegas Aces for the past three seasons, where she was a part of the Aces’ back-to-back championship run in 2022 and 2023. Before joining the Aces’ coaching staff, Nakase spent ten seasons with her hometown team, the Los Angeles Clippers, and their G League.

The Valkyries will practice at downtown Oakland’s Golden State Warrior space and play games at Chase Center in San Francisco. This is an excellent opportunity to experience both sides of the water.

The Valkyries WNBA season opens May 2025 at Chase Center in San Francisco, and the Valkyries website shows over 18,000 season-ticket deposits. For clarity, if someone is ‘interested’ in purchasing season tickets, a $25 deposit is required. The Chase Center’s capacity is a little over 18,000, so you can imagine how electrifying the stadium will be during all home games.

Ohemaa, welcome to the Bay and The Town!