Earlier this month, former Cardinals scouting director Christopher Correa plead guilty to five counts of unauthorized access to a computer for hacking the Houston Astros database. Unsealed federal documents revealed that Correa used an old password to look at confidential information, including scouting reports and notes on trade talks. It looks like that password was, incredibly, “Eckstein123.”
Here’s what U.S. Attorney Michael Chu said (from the transcript of Correa’s re-arraignment):
MR. CHU: It was based on the name of a player who was scrawny and who would not have been thought of to succeed in the major leagues, but through effort and determination he succeeded anyway. So this user of the password just liked that name, so he just kept on using that name over the years.
The Houston Chronicle first pointed this out, and noted that Correa’s attorney admitted that the 123 was probably part of the password:
Correa’s attorney, David Adler, said the password was similar to “Magidson123,”referencing Ken Magidson, the U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Texas who prosecuted the case.
The entire re-arraignment is below.
h/t @weed_mouse; Photo via AP