Redazione RHC : 3 October 2025 17:12
Last Monday, Asahi Group, Japan’s largest beer, whisky, and soft drink maker, temporarily suspended its operations in Japan following a cyberattack that compromised its systems , including order processing, shipping, and call centers. The company is known for products such as Super Dry beer and Nikka whisky.
On Wednesday, employees began manually processing orders, visiting customers in person and recording requests on paper . To focus resources on shipping existing orders, Asahi temporarily suspended accepting new alcohol orders, while continuing to accept requests for food and non-alcoholic beverages. The first batch of manual orders was shipped on Friday.
“There are currently no immediate plans to restore our system. Regular deliveries remain suspended, and system restoration is not expected anytime soon,” a spokesperson for Asahi Group Holdings said. “We took immediate action to contain and respond to the incident,” the company said in a statement.
On Friday evening, the company confirmed it had been the victim of a ransomware attack . Full customer call center operations are expected to resume next week. Asahi has engaged external specialists to restore its IT systems, but the timeframe for a full return to operations remains uncertain. The company is also assessing the financial impact of the incident.
The consequences of the attack are reverberating across the country. A Tokyo restaurant, normally stocked exclusively with Asahi beer, is running out of its last barrel of Super Dry and has had to purchase beer from competitors like Sapporo to meet the shortage.
“I would like to sincerely apologize for the inconvenience caused to our stakeholders by the recent system outage,” said CEO Atsushi Katsuki . ” We are continuing our investigation to determine the nature and extent of the potential unauthorized data transfer and are doing everything we can to restore the system as quickly as possible. We appreciate your understanding and support.”
This incident comes amid growing cybersecurity vulnerabilities. Just last month, luxury car manufacturer Jaguar Land Rover had to close its UK plants due to a hacker attack.
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