Cyber Incident Victim: National Agriculture Library
Date:
Oct 2015
Location:
United States of America
Summary
A hacktivist group operating under the Anonymous collective breached a U.S. Department of Agriculture subdomain, compromising the National Agriculture Library's systems and exfiltrating sensitive data. The attackers leaked staff information including administrative credentials, emails, full names, phone numbers, and zip codes, alongside thousands of records from clients or contractors containing business details, addresses, and personal contact information. The intrusion was attributed to OpMonsanto, a campaign targeting entities perceived as supporting Monsanto, with perpetrators claiming retaliation against the corporation's agricultural practices.
| CIA Posture | Motives | Tactics, Techniques & Procedures |
|---|---|---|
| Available to members | 1 motive | 1 technique |
| Threat Actor | Type | Location |
|---|---|---|
| 1 actor | Available to members | Available to members |
Description
On October 28, 2015, the National Agriculture Library (NAL), a subdomain of the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s official website, was breached by Anonymous hacktivists as part of their Operation Monsanto campaign. The attackers compromised the subdomain and exfiltrated sensitive data, including the site’s database, administrative login credentials, and personal information belonging to NAL staff. Leaked staff records included full names, email addresses, phone numbers, and zip codes. A separate dataset exposed details of clients, customers, or contractors affiliated with the Department of Agriculture, comprising thousands of entries with full names, business names (primarily restaurants), email addresses, phone numbers, and physical street addresses. The attackers publicly released this data, which was verified as authentic and previously undisclosed. This incident mirrored an earlier August 2015 attack by the same Anonymous faction against a South African government contractor linked to Monsanto.
The breach directly compromised the confidentiality of NAL personnel and associated entities, exposing sensitive personal and business information. Anonymous claimed responsibility, stating the attack targeted organizations supporting Monsanto, which they opposed for allegedly producing "poisonous food products." The threat actor involved had a documented history of high-profile breaches, including attacks on two Israeli arms dealers/importers and the World Trade Organization. The U.S. Department of Agriculture was contacted for comment following the incident, though no official response or remediation actions were disclosed in the available source material. The operation highlighted Anonymous’ sustained focus on entities perceived as enabling Monsanto’s activities, leveraging compromised data to advance their campaign objectives.