As I have commented on in this column on several occasions, hacking has become commonplace in today’s world. Recently we learned of the largest breach of U.S. government data ever. Allegedly, Chinese hackers were able to break into the database of the U.S. Office of Personnel Management, which is basically the federal government’s HR department. Hackers obtained basic personal information such as Social Security numbers and work records on 14 million people. Potentially more damaging, however, is that culprits also gained access to a sensitive database containing data from background checks done for people with security clearances for top-secret information. This information shows the vulnerabilities that employees who handle secret information might have, such as any history of drug use and health records. Security analysts say that, in the right hands, this information could be used to blackmail government employees or recruit them as spies.

It seems that everyone is in the hacking game these days. From foreign governments trying to gain sensitive data to cybercriminals trying to obtain financial data, hacking is everywhere, and it is only going to get worse as the perpetuators of these crimes become more sophisticated. However, it was a relatively low-tech hack, by an unlikely organization, that really piqued my interest in recent days.

The St. Louis Cardinals—yes, the baseball team—are being investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) for allegedly hacking into computer networks and trying to steal information about the Houston Astros. The New York Times reported that investigators discovered evidence that front-office personnel for the Cardinals broke into a special database built by the Astros that contained internal discussions about trades, proprietary statistics and scouting reports. According to the report, law enforcement officials believe vengeful Cardinals front-office employees executed the hacking to target Jeff Luhnow, the Astros’ general manager, who previously was a successful but polarizing executive with the Cardinals until 2011.

This is a unique twist for arguably one of Major League Baseball’s most successful franchises over the last 20 years, having reached the National League Championship nine times and the World Series four time since 2000; winning it all in 2006 (against my beloved Detroit Tigers) and 2011.

The New York Times articles goes on to state that the attack would represent the first known case of corporate espionage in which a professional sports team hacked the network of another team. 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,” a spokesman for Commissioner Rob Manfred said in a written statement.

“The St. Louis Cardinals are aware of the investigation into the security breach of the Houston Astros’ database,” the team said in a statement. “The team has fully cooperated with the investigation and will continue to do so. Given that this is an ongoing federal investigation, it is not appropriate for us to comment further.”

In a sport where a player by the name of Hack Wilson is enshrined in its Hall of Fame, and Stan Hack holds the Chicago Cubs’ franchise record for career walks, I guess anything is possible.

Best of the Web

This month marks the beginning of the second cycle of our Best of the Web segment. Since transitioning from the AAII Journal last year, we have run six bimonthly features outlining the best online services for individual investors in the areas of financial news and analysis; mutual funds and ETFs (exchange-traded funds); personal finance; portfolio tracking, analysis and optimization; retirement planning; stocks; and tax resources. This month, we return to stocks, specifically the realm of charting and technical analysis, conference calls and corporate events, and fundamental stock data. We will continue to scour the Web to see if new or better services come along, so that we are always covering the true “best of the Web.” As always, too, we welcome your comments and feedback. If you think we have overlooked a Web gem, let us know at ci@aaii.com. Since we are not trying to be a comprehensive resource, I cannot guarantee we will include suggestions in our final listing. However, we will consider all suggestions and if a site is worthy, we will certainly deem it one of CI’s Best of the Web.

Equivolume Charting

In this month’s Technically Speaking column, I cover a form of charting that first captured my interest when I started at AAII over 17 years ago—equivolume. Developed by Richard W. Arms Jr., equivolume is a price plot that incorporates volume into each period. Technical analysis is the study of price and volume, but price usually gets top billing. However, Arms changed that with equivolume. The price plots on an equivolume chart place the high-low range of price for the period in the vertical axis, similar to a candlestick chart, but the width of the price plot is determined by that period’s relative volume. The higher the volume for a given period, the wider the equivolume “box.” This way, it is easier to verify volume for reversals, support or resistance breaks, and other key chart patterns.

Happy Summer

With the official start of summer nearly upon us, I am looking forward to spending some warm afternoons relaxing with my family in rural Michigan. With any luck at all, I will even have a chance to catch a brown trout or two fly-fishing in the Au Sable and Manistee Rivers of Northern Michigan. Wherever your summer travels take you, I wish you a relaxing and safe season.

Until next month,

Wayne A. Thorp, CFA
Editor, Computerized Investing
@WayneTAAII