Japan’s most popular beer is running low after cyberattack

Japan is facing a potential shortage of Asahi beer after a cyberattack against the beverage maker forced its systems offline. Asahi Group issued a statement on Monday announcing that order, shipment, and call center operations at the company had been suspended due to the systems outage, and that the disruption was limited to Japan.

The company has now started to manually process orders, according to an updated notice published today, but system-based orders and wide-scale shipments remain suspended. Asahi said it was targeted by a ransomware attack, but is withholding specifics “to prevent further damage.” The company is unable to provide a clear timeline for system recovery.

“We took immediate action to contain and respond to the incident,” Asahi said in the system failure notice. “Subsequent investigations have confirmed traces suggesting a potential unauthorized transfer of data. We are conducting [an] investigation to determine the nature and scope of the information that may have been subject to unauthorized transfer.”

The Financial Times reported on Thursday that major Japanese retailers were estimating that nationwide stocks of Asahi Super Dry — the country’s most popular beer — would run dry this weekend if supply chains were not restored.