Cyberattack’s Impact on Asahi Continues into 2nd Week, with Timeline Still Unclear

By Tomoharu Mizuno and Taihei Ishikawa / Yomiuri Shimbun Staff Writers

15:15 JST, October 7, 2025

The business operations of Asahi Group Holdings Ltd. were still being hampered one week after a cyberattack disrupted its computer system, on Monday. All domestic operations have been impacted, with Asahi facing challenges in receiving orders, shipping products and carrying out its call center services.

The cyberattack utilized ransomware, a type of computer virus that encrypts data on computers or systems to disable them, allowing the perpetrator to demand a ransom in exchange for data restoration.

It is unknown when the system will be restored, and product shipments are only being partially carried out. As a result, the negative impact is spreading, with inventories of Asahi products running out in restaurants and retail stores.

Postponing product releases

Asahi announced Monday that all six of its domestic beer factories had resumed operations on Thursday.

On Oct. 1, Asahi had only been producing its flagship Super Dry brand, for which orders were being taken over the phone. From Friday, shipments of Super Dry had resumed.

Though Asahi aims to partially resume shipments of 16 brands, including Asahi Nama Beer and Clear Asahi, on Oct. 15, orders will be received manually. It is still impossible to accept orders by its computer system, and thus it is unknown when operations will return to normal.

Sending emails had not been affected by the cyberattack, but functions to receive emails have only been partially restored.

Asahi on Monday postponed the release of 10 new products, including beer and chuhai alcoholic beverages. The products had been scheduled for release by Oct. 28.

Ransomware attacks on rise

Asahi was hit by the ransomware attack at around 7 a.m. on Sept. 29. On Friday, it announced that information may have been leaked and was working to confirm details.

Asahi has not disclosed whether it received a ransom. Even if it were to accede to the demands, it is not guaranteed that the data will be restored.

According to cybersecurity service firm Trend Micro Inc., there were more than 80 cases of ransomware attacks reported by companies and organizations in Japan in 2024. This is over 10 times the figure in 2020.

Effects of system integration

Asahi’s use of Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) software has been pointed out by experts as a factor hindering data restoration.

The ERP software controls multiple systems, including those for procurement, purchases, sales and production, in an integrated way to increase management efficiency.

Though a causal relation between the use of ERP software and the prolonged system trouble has not been proven, it could allow a single incident to adversely impact a wider range of business areas and make restoration more difficult.

“Companies should prepare two or more backups on the understanding that no system is 100% safe,” said Motohiro Tsuchiya, a professor at Keio University and cybersecurity expert. “Corporate managers should reconfirm the importance of investments in security.”