FBI Investigating St. Louis Cardinals for Allegedly Hacking Houston Astros
St. Louis Cardinals and Houston Astros say they are cooperating with authorities
— -- The FBI is investigating the St. Louis Cardinals for allegedly hacking a database belonging to the Houston Astros, a federal law enforcement official said.
Major League Baseball said in a statement the league “has been aware of and has fully cooperated with the federal investigation into the illegal breach of the Astros’ baseball operations database.”
The Cardinals, one of baseball’s most celebrated teams, acknowledged the federal probe, saying in a statement, “The St. Louis Cardinals are aware of the investigation into the security breach of the Houston Astros’ database. The team has fully cooperated with the investigation and will continue to do so.” Citing the ongoing investigation, the team declined to comment further.
The database, nicknamed Ground Control according to the Houston Chronicle, was hacked last year. A law enforcement official told ABC News it contained internal information about Houston’s potential trades, scouting reports, contract information and other material that, if compromised, could be to a competing team’s advantage.
The Astros said the team is “actively cooperating” with the federal investigation and declined to comment further.
The commissioner’s office will wait until the investigation is over to determine whether discipline is warranted.
MLB commissioner Rob Manfred said during a press conference today that the forensic experts in his office have not been involved in the FBI’s investigation. And he was hesitant to call it a “cyberattack,” instead calling it “unauthorized entry into Houston’s system.”
The Cardinals currently have baseball’s best record this season and are playing a home game this afternoon against Minnesota.