Asahi Group Holdings, the Japanese beer giant, disclosed for the first time the full extent of the serious cyberattack it suffered at the end of September. The attack not only paralyzed its ordering, logistics, and customer service systems but also potentially led to the leak of personal information of over 1.9 million customers and employees. This incident marks the first public disclosure of the damage suffered by Asahi since the attack occurred.
According to Asahi, the cyberattack on September 29 may have allowed unauthorized access to personal information of 1.52 million customers, as well as contact information of 114,000 individuals and data of approximately 275,000 current and former employees and their families. The company emphasized that there have been no known data leaks on the internet so far, but they are continuously monitoring the situation and will notify the affected parties.
At a press conference held in Tokyo to announce the investigation results, Asahi Group’s President and CEO Atsushi Kamonogi, together with the Group’s CFO Kazuhiro Nagata, bowed in apology. Kamonogi stated that the cyberattack disrupted the ordering and shipping processes, reflecting a trend of similar attacks seen recently across global enterprises.
He also mentioned that the attack methods were similar to recent international incidents, such as Jaguar Land Rover experiencing a system shutdown due to an attack and Marks & Spencer in the UK facing disruptions to online ordering functions.
Within a week after the incident, six factories within Japan resumed production, but due to severe damage to the logistics and supply chain systems, the sales of Asahi’s three major beverage and food businesses in Japan in October declined by 10% to 40% compared to the same period last year. During this time, restaurants, bars, and retail outlets experienced widespread shortages of Asahi beer and beverages.
Asahi stated that they are working tirelessly to restore their information and supply chain, aiming to fully restore logistics by February next year. However, some products may still face unstable shipping conditions at that time.
This incident has also affected the financial reporting schedule. The release of the third-quarter financial report, originally scheduled for November 12, has been postponed for over 50 days, exceeding the previous estimate of a 45-day delay. Kamonogi admitted that a short-term decline in performance is inevitable, but the medium to long-term management plan remains unaffected.
The ransomware group “Qilin” claimed responsibility for the attack on October 9. Kamonogi emphasized that Asahi did not pay any ransom.
Asahi, known internationally for its flagship product “Super Dry”, faced one of the most serious cyber security incidents in recent years among large consumer goods companies in Japan.
Asahi stated that they will continue to strengthen their cybersecurity system and strive to ensure full stability in the supply chain in the coming months.