Monsanto Says Data Security Breached at Precision Planting Unit

Monsanto Co.’s data security was breached at its Precision Planting unit, exposing employees and customers to potential misuse of credit card information and tax identification numbers.

Fewer than 1,300 farmer customers were affected by the breach, Christy Toedebusch, a spokeswoman for the St. Louis-based company, said in an e-mail yesterday. Monsanto discovered on March 27 that an outside party had accessed Precision Planting servers, the company said in a May 14 letter to the Office of the Attorney General in Maryland, where 14 state residents may have been affected.