Cyber Incident Victim: Rede Globo
Date:
Jun 2014
Location:
Brazil
Summary
Anonymous conducted a series of cyber attacks against Brazilian institutions during the World Cup, including a breach of Globo TV that exposed employee names, emails, IP addresses, and internal details through social engineering. The collective also compromised government agencies, telecom providers, electoral courts, power utilities, and law enforcement portals, leaking sensitive data such as hashed passwords, contact information, and operational documents. These actions, branded under #OpWorldCup, protested perceived corruption and social inequality tied to the event, with hackers explicitly denouncing FIFA and Brazilian authorities while aligning their campaign with public demonstrations.
| CIA Posture | Motives | Tactics, Techniques & Procedures |
|---|---|---|
| Available to members | 1 motive | 2 techniques |
| Threat Actors | Type | Location |
|---|---|---|
| 2 actors | Available to members | Available to members |
Description
On June 17, 2014, during the FIFA World Cup hosted in Brazil, the hacktivist group Anonymous executed a coordinated cyber campaign dubbed #OpWorldCup (#OpMundial2014, #OpHackingCup, #FreeBrazil), targeting multiple Brazilian institutions in protest against the event and perceived government corruption. Globo TV Brasil, a major media organization, was compromised through a social engineering attack against its website, resulting in unauthorized access to internal databases. Attackers exfiltrated and publicly leaked data containing search engine host configurations, IP addresses, and the full names and email addresses of 167 employees, including journalists and technical staff. The breach was announced alongside attacks on five other entities: the Brazilian federal government (450 employee credentials), Cemig Telecom (over 1,000 customer and employee records), the Regional Electoral Court of the Amazon (email and password data), Power Plants of Northern Brazil (3,400 user contact details), and the Federal Police portal (with screenshots confirming access). Anonymous Brasil claimed responsibility for the Globo TV intrusion, posting a Portuguese-language message on the leaked data explaining the breach as part of a broader effort to expose institutional vulnerabilities.
The Globo TV compromise formed part of a disruptive multi-day operation that included prior defacements of São Paulo Military Police websites and leveraged international collaboration, notably with Tunisian hackers targeting Cemig Telecom. Impacts centered on operational disruption and reputational damage, with sensitive employee information and infrastructure details disseminated across multiple public leak repositories. No internal containment measures or victim responses were documented in available reporting. The campaign emphasized ideological motives, with Anonymous condemning corruption, political exploitation of public resources, and FIFA’s role in the World Cup, as evidenced by protest messages embedded in leaked datasets. While HackRead’s coverage noted unverified claims regarding data authenticity, the scale of confirmed breaches across government, media, energy, and law enforcement entities demonstrated systemic security weaknesses exploited during the high-profile international event.