Brewer Asahi Group Holdings is still struggling to restore its operations one month after a cyberattack crippled its systems, with the disruption rippling across Japan¡¯s beverage industry and squeezing supply.
The ransomware attack, which hit the company on Sept. 29, initially forced Asahi to suspend all orders and shipping. While production later resumed through manual processing, output remains well below pre-incident levels.
With no timeline for a full recovery, the company faces an inevitable dent to its profit ¡ª and competitors are also feeling the strain as they scramble to meet surging demand for substitutes.
¡°Beer has vanished from Disneyland,¡± users wrote on social media in mid-October after Tokyo Disneyland ran short of supply. Although the park sources beer from Kirin Holdings, operator Oriental Land said shipments were temporarily adjusted due to Asahi¡¯s outage, leading to a brief shortage.
Kirin, along with Suntory Holdings and Sapporo Breweries, has suspended sales of some beer gift sets for the year-end holiday season. The companies said they are prioritizing steady supply of core products as demand for substitutes surges.
Asahi has delayed the release of its new Super Dry can designs as well as several soft drink and candy products. Some retailers have also reported running out of nonbeer items such as Calpis.
¡°Deliveries of draft beer kegs for restaurants are gradually recovering, but inventories for other products remain uncertain,¡± said an industry source at a liquor wholesaler.
The Asahi incident was caused by ransomware ¡ª malicious software that locks computer systems until a ransom is paid ¡ª and mirrors a growing pattern of attacks targeting major Japanese firms. On Oct. 19, office supply retailer Askul was also hit by a similar attack, forcing it to suspend all order processing.
Yu Arai, an executive security analyst at NTT Data Group, said the losses for affected companies can be wide-ranging. They include costs for restoring systems, investigating intrusion routes, and compensating business partners for disruptions in the supply of products and services.
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