Japanese brewing giant Asahi Group Holdings has entered a fifth day of disruption after a cyber incident paralysed its domestic logistics and forced production to halt across much of its network.
The company, which produces the flagship Asahi Super Dry lager alongside dozens of other beverages and consumer products, confirmed that systems used for processing orders, shipments and customer services remain offline. Around 30 factories across Japan have been idled since the attack was first reported on Monday, with deliveries to pubs and liquor outlets already affected. Before the attack the brewer would make 6.7 million large bottles a day.
A spokesperson acknowledged that emergency manual workarounds had been attempted. “On October 1 JST, as an emergency measure, we manually processed orders for some products, including Asahi Super Dry. However, this was a temporary and urgent response and it remains undecided whether such measures will be continued after October 2,” the company said.
While production lines themselves were not directly compromised, the inability to dispatch goods forced a suspension of brewing. “With regards to production, while our production systems themselves have not been affected, we have suspended production as shipments cannot be made,” the spokesperson added.
The attack has not only frozen deliveries but also delayed the rollout of more than a dozen new products originally scheduled for mid-October. The brewer confirmed the launches will be pushed back until operations can be stabilised.
Despite speculation in Japanese media that ransomware may be involved, Asahi has stated the breach remains under investigation. “This is currently under investigation,” the company noted. “We’ve consulted with law enforcement, including discussing the possibility that ransomware may be involved.”
Asahi also emphasised there is no evidence of personal data exposure. “We have no confirmation that any personal information or customer data has been stolen,” the spokesperson said.
Shares in Asahi dropped 2.6 per cent on Thursday as the outage continued, reversing some of the 7 per cent gains seen earlier this year. Since the attack was disclosed at the start of the week, the brewer’s stock has fallen more than 5 per cent.
Although international operations — including its European portfolio of brands such as Peroni and Grolsch — remain unaffected, the incident has already raised concerns about short-term shortages of Japan’s best-selling beer.
The Financial Times reports that specialists from Tokyo-based Nihon Cyber Defence (NCD) believe Japanese firms have become prime ransomware targets due to weak cyber protections and a tendency to settle extortion demands quietly. Data from Japan’s National Police Agency showed 222 ransomware incidents were formally logged in 2024, up 12 per cent year on year. However, NCD experts argue that the official tally reflects only a sliver of the true number of cases occurring across the corporate sector.
Asahi is the latest global food and beverage player to be hit by cyber disruption. Over the past year, companies including Russian distiller Novabev, German brewer Oettinger and dairy group Arla Foods have reported ransomware or related incidents. The UK’s Co-op Group recently disclosed an £80 million ($107 million) profit impact from an April cyberattack.
