Houston Astros Security Breach Revealed Inside Trade Data
- By Ginger Hill
- Jul 01, 2014
There’s nothing like a baseball game to quench the long, hot days of summer…sippin’ on an ice cold drink, eating a ballpark hotdog and the sound of the bat cracking as it strikes the ball. But, as the game of baseball heats up, so do the activities of hackers.
The Houston Astros reacted promptly and sternly after confidential information containing internal correspondence between team officials regarding trade talks with other clubs was released into cyber space. The club learned of this security breach about a month ago, when information was released through a website that allows users to anonymously share hacked information. Deadspin.com, another website, picked up the information and “helped” to make it even more known.
For the past four years, the Astros have been extremely busy at the Trade Deadline, so they have obviously been involved in major discussions with other clubs, sharing information that is very intriguing to hackers. In this case, hackers stole detailed information of internal trade discussions concerning several players, including Jose Veras and Bud Norris, directly from “Ground Control,” the Astros’ internal database.
Jeff Luhnow, the Astros’ general manager, has contacted the other teams and players that were mentioned in the hacked data and overall, they have been understanding and supportive. Just as baseball is a team sport that takes multiple players to achieve greatness, so too, is the war on cybercrime.
Working with MLB security and the FBI, the Astros intend to prosecute all involved with this data hack, but in the meantime, they have taken measures to improve their database’s security.
Image Credit: Daniel M. Silva / Shutterstock.com
About the Author
Ginger Hill is Group Social Media Manager.