Astros GM Denies That Team Was Hacked Because He Used Old Passwords

One of the sillier details from the original report on the Cardinals hacking scandal was that the Cardinals employees who gained access to the Astros’ database did so by using some old passwords that Astros GM Jeff Luhnow had used when he was a Cardinals employee. But now Luhnow is denying that part of the report, and he wants everyone to understand that he knows all about “password hygiene” (nerd alert!) and other important computer stuff.

Here’s what Luhnow had to say to :

One was the implication that the hackers had been able to gain access to the Astros’ database—which is called Ground Control and contains scouting and medical reports and statistical projections, among other data—because he had failed to change his old passwords. “That’s absolutely false,” said Luhnow, who worked as a technology executive before he began his career in baseball. “I absolutely know about password hygiene and best practices. I’m certainly aware of how important passwords are, as well as of the importance of keeping them updated. A lot of my job in baseball, as it was in high tech, is to make sure that intellectual property is protected. I take that seriously and hold myself and those who work for me to a very high standard.”

If Luhnow is telling the truth, I guess it means that only some of the people involved in this scandal are idiots. That’s disappointing, because this story is a lot more fun when everyone is a dummy.

[ SI]