The Bivings Group used to handle PR for businesses such as the multi-national biotech corporation Monstanto. Now, a group of Anonymous hackers are claiming they hit the PR firm until it shut down operations.

“Operation End Monsanto is still very much up and running.  Pwnage will continue indefinitely,” reads the opening statement of a paste at Pastebin from Anonymous.

The hackers are referring to efforts to strike at the “cyberstructure” of The Bivings Group, a now defunct PR firm which was known to have worked with Monsanto, according to Lobby Watch. Information on Bivings Group is scarce on the internet, but the links supplied by Lobby Watch to Bivings Group’s website no longer exist or now link to a new PR firm The Brick Factory.

One can still find The Bivings Group’s LinkedIn page, where its most recent post “Moved In” routes users to the new Brick Factory office space in Washington, D. C. (close to the action, as it were).

Yesterday, the Anonymous hackers claimed they had finally succeeded in taking down Bivings Group, quoting the following (supposed) Bivings Group communication, “Our Cyber Infrastructure has recently been put under attack. We are evaluating the extent of the intrusion, and apologise for any downtime and issues this may cause you. It is not yet determined what the motives behind the attack are, or what, if any data has been compromised. We will continue to keep you up to date, and sincerely apologise for any inconvenience.”

Monsanto, of course, is known for pioneering Agent Orange, rBGH, Terminator seeds, genetically-modified food (or GMO’s, genetically-modified organism) and has patented various plant seeds in an effort to control food supplies. When Monsanto seeds are blown by the wind from a Monsanto-seed farm to a local farmer’s fields and take root, Monsanto then sues the local farmers for patent infringement.

Monsanto also came under fire in February of 2011 when it was discovered by scientists that the biotech corporation’s herbicide Roundup Ready was likely causing infertility in livestock. It would seem that Bivings Group was in the business of trying to convince internet users that Monsanto is environmentally and socially conscious.

Whether or not the Bivings Group hack actually precipitated the shut down is unknown, though it could have indeed been one of the factors.

Nevertheless, perhaps this fresh start as The Brick Factory, and the attention they got from hackers, will convince the former Bivings Group employees to work with ethical businesses instead of those of the Monsanto variety.