U.S. senator takes hacking scandal to judiciary hearing
CLEVELAND — U.S. Sen. John Cornyn, RTexas, wants the St. Louis Cardinals to be given high heat if investigators find evidence they hacked into the Astros’ computer systems.
Cornyn raised the Cardinals-Astros hacking scandal in a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing in Washington on Wednesday, Cornyn’s office said. Cornyn questioned a Department of Justice official on the FBI’s investigation of the Cardinals, who are said to have accessed Astros’ data without authorization.
“I hope that FBI and DOJ will take the ongoing investigation into any criminal activity seriously and ensure that any wrongdoing is fully investigated and prosecuted,” Cornyn said in an exchange with Deputy Assistant Attorney General David Bitkower, according to a news release from Cornyn’s office.
Bill DeWitt, the owner of the Cardinals, has acknowledged “roguish behavior” in his organization. The Cardinals have fired one front-office member, Chris Correa, who reportedly admitted to accessing Astros information without authorization.
The Cardinals first breached the Astros in 2012 and continued to into 2014, as the Chronicle has reported.
“As a general matter, could accessing such information, which would include trade secrets by the Astros, would that — does that — give rise to a potential illegal economic espionage charge as well?” Cornyn said.
Said Bitkower: “Again, as a general matter, accessing trade secrets from a protected computer could potentially violate two different statues: both the protection for the computer itself under CFAA (the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act) as well as the trade secrets statute.”
Cornyn asked for clarity on whether the Cardinals organization could potentially be charged, as well as any individuals potentially deemed responsible.
“Again, speaking generally, the question now goes, I think, to accessorial liability for a particular violation, and the doctrines and statutes that govern whether one individual can be liable for the conduct of another are very fact-specific,” Bitkower said. “Certainly, if there was a common plan or agreement to violate the law, there could be liability there.”