Asahi fears ‘possibility’ of personal data leaked during cyber-attack
Japan’s beer giant Asahi has revealed there is “the possibility” that personal information may have been compromised in last month’s cyber-attack.
Updating its stance on the cyber attack the brewer suffered in September, Asahi said that it has now “identified the possibility that personal information may have been subject to unauthorised data transfer”.
The attack was initially revealed on 29 September, when the beer company revealed that a “system failure” had forced it to shut down ordering, shipping, and call centre systems across its Japan-based sites.
At the time, Asahi had reiterated that customer and employee data were safe and, despite a fortnight of disruption that involved delayed shipments and potential stock shortages across Japan with orders being processed manually, what followed was the business declaring that it had managed to reopen six of its domestic breweries.
Asahi says it’s probing the “extent and detail” of the situation and “will promptly notify those concerned and take appropriate measures in accordance with applicable laws on the protection of personal information”.
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A spokesperson for Asahi told db: “It has been confirmed that data suspected to have been subject to unauthorised transfer as a result of the recent cyberattack has been identified on the internet. As we continue investigating the extent and details of the impact, focusing on the systems targeted in the recent attack, we have identified the possibility that personal information may have been subject to unauthorised data transfer.”
The spokesperson added: “We would like to refrain from providing details including personal information at this time, as the matter is currently under investigation.”
Meanwhile, Asahi has also postponed its quarterly financial results, a move that reflects a business that has a lot to manage right now.
Speaking about the reasoning behind this being linked to the cyber-attack, an Asahi spokesperson said: “The incident has also disrupted access to accounting-related data, resulting in delays in financial closing procedures. While the company is making every effort to restore the system as quickly as possible, a timeline for full recovery cannot be provided at this time. Therefore, the company has decided to postpone the announcement of its financial results for the third quarter of the fiscal year ending 31 December, 2025.”
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