Cardinals busted for breaching the Astros' computer system

Today, in a redux of #DeflateGate, the FBI has busted the St. Louis Cardinalsfor hacking the computer system of the Houston Astros, our former NL Central division rival that is now in the AL West. Of course, leave it up to some of the "BFIB" to defend the Cardinals and attack the Astros, while simultaneously bashing the Cheatriots (aka "Patriots") for doing the same thing.

Photo via KSDK's Casey Nolen (@CaseyNolen) on a Cardinals fan supporting the team in spite of #CardsHackGate:

.@Cardinals fans flashing signs of support. #HackGatepic.twitter.com/C7arABl43a

— Casey Nolen KSDK (@CaseyNolen) June 16, 2015

Brian Feldt at St. Louis Business Journal on jail time possibility:

Allegations that unnamed St. Louis Cardinals officials hacked into the Houston Astros’ internal networks to compromise the work of Jeff Luhnow, the Astros’ general manager who had been a Cardinals executive until 2011, could result in hefty fines or even jail time, legal experts say. No charges have been filed.

Marc Edelman, a law professor and sports business scholar who specializes in sports law, said if the accusations are true, Cardinals officials violated state and federal law.

[...]
Following the federal investigation, the Cardinals could be subject to a Major League Baseball investigation.

The negative publicity could soil the reputation of one of the league’s premier teams; the Cardinals have been to the National League Championship Series nine times since 2000, and reportedly generate an annual operating income of more than $73 million.

Ultimate Astros Blog at Houston Chronicle:

The St. Louis Cardinals are being investigated by the FBI and the Justice Department for hacking into the Astros internal network to steal information on player personnel, a person involved in the investigation said. The Astros and MLB are aware and cooperating with the probe. The New York Times first reported that the Cardinals were the focus of the probe.

Investigators have uncovered evidence that Cardinals officials broke into a computer network of the 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 told the Times.

[...]

The Houston office of the FBI declined to comment on the investigation.

The Astros computer system, dubbed Ground Control, was featured in the Houston Chronicle last year. Shortly after the article appeared, the Astros said people were trying to get into the database because they could see a URL in a photo that accompanied the article. However, the site and link were also available via Google.

Also last year, Deadspin published leaked documents from the site. The Chronicle reported last June that the FBI was investigating the leaks.

The Times reported that agents found that the Astros’ network had been breached from a computer at a home that some Cardinals officials had lived in. The agents then turned their attention to the Cardinals’ front office.

Astros GM Jeff Luhnow worked for the Cardinals for nearly a decade and helped modernize St. Louis’ approach to using data-driven research and making data-driven decisions.

Luhnow left the Cardinals after the 2011 season to take over the reins of Houston and begin a rebuilding process with the Astros.

Tom Ley at Deadspin (long a home for Anti-Cardinals sentiment, some of which is justified):

The Cardinals front-office executives who hacked into the Astros’ database are extremely dumb.
Jeff Luhnow and his Astros colleagues are pretty dumb.
All the people responsible for designing the Astros’ database, known as Ground Control, are way dumb.
Whoever decided to put hacked documents on Anonbin, making them accessible to anyone with an internet connection, is a dimwit.

Lauren C. Williams at Think Progress Sports:

The Justice Department is investigating St. Louis Cardinals’ administrative officials for reportedly hacking into data servers belonging to the Houston Astros to gather personnel data for players, the New York Times reported Tuesday.
The Federal Bureau of Investigations found evidence Cardinals officials penetrated an Astros’ database in 2014 that contained internal communications regarding player trades, scouting reports, and team statistics. The breach was allegedly an act of revenge against Astros general manager Jeff Luhnow, a former Cardinals executive until 2011. Some information from the hack surfaced online last year, namely trade talks Luhnow had with other teams, according to a Deadspin report.
“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,” MLB said in a statement Tuesday. “Once the investigative process has been completed by federal law enforcement officials, we will evaluate the next steps and will make decisions promptly.”
The case is considered the first known instance of corporate espionage involving professional sports and it becomes even more shocking considering the profile of the team involved — the Cardinals currently have the best record in baseball and a long history as one of the most successful and supported teams.

The St. Louis Post-Dispatch's Nick Pistor (@NickPistor) on the scandal:

In honesty, the allegations are heartbreaking. We have so many challenges in #STL. The #Cardinals are one proud institution we have left.

— Nicholas J.C. Pistor (@nickpistor) June 16, 2015

As a life-long Cardinals fan, I feel sickened by this incident (along with the Darren Wilson supporters fiasco last year and the recent Fredbird #PoliceLivesMatter sign kerfuffle.). It is a massive dent into our fanbase's credibility, and if the MLB and DOJ's investigations of the allegations turn out to be true, then they should throw the book on those doing the wrongdoing.