Asahi Group Holdings: Cyberattacks Cause Enormous Damage

Editorial

15:30 JST, October 8, 2025

Cyberattacks have interfered with the production and sales of everyday products, disrupting people’s lives. This incident has starkly demonstrated the significant damage caused by such malicious crimes.

Measures to prevent such crimes must be strengthened through public-private cooperation.

On Sept. 29, a computer system failure occurred at major beer and beverage company Asahi Group Holdings, Ltd. This has caused widespread disruption, including the inability to receive emails and product orders or to ship products, among other operations. Production at its factories was also forced to halt temporarily, according to the company.

It is serious that a major company whose products are familiar to consumers is struggling to repair its system and has still not been able to fully restore it even after a week. Its products are beginning to run short in stores. If beer and other beverages become scarce, the disruption will likely spread further.

Asahi reported to investigative authorities that the system failure was caused by a cyberattack that used ransomware, which is malware sent by attackers who demand money in exchange for restoring data. Ransomware infiltrates targeted computers or servers, encrypting stored data to render them unusable.

It is hoped that Asahi will work to maintain close communication with the government and investigative authorities, and to swiftly achieve full restoration. The company is also urged to fulfill its social responsibility by disclosing the sequence of events to the greatest extent possible, to prevent such cyberattacks from spreading further to other companies.

Companies are integrating systems for procurement, sales, manufacturing and other functions to reduce costs. Asahi is also taking steps to do so. However, it has been pointed out that when a system failure occurs, the impact spreads widely, making a quick recovery difficult.

Analysis should be expedited to determine how the system integration that Asahi has pursued is connected to the delay in restoring the system.

It is crucial for other companies to recognize again the importance of establishing business continuity plans for when system failures occur.

There has been a spate of cases in recent years in which disruptions caused by cyberattacks have lasted for extended periods. Last year, major publisher Kadokawa Corp. suspended its video streaming services for about two months.

The government should reexamine these past examples, analyze each system’s vulnerabilities and the impact of potential attacks, and then urgently implement countermeasures.

The government partially implemented the law related to “active cyber defense” in July to prevent damage from cyberattacks. It has designated over 200 companies across 15 sectors, including power, finance and railways, as critical infrastructure operators to be defended under the law.

Although Asahi is not one of the designated companies, this case can be said to have demonstrated that even operators of non-critical infrastructure have a widespread impact on the lives of the public. The government needs to consider measures against cyberattacks, including expanding the list of designated sectors, through discussions with each industry.

(From The Yomiuri Shimbun, Oct. 8, 2025)