Japan’s beer-making giant Asahi stops production after cyberattack

In Brief Asahi Group Holdings, the brewery giant that produces the Japanese beer Asahi and other beverages, was hit by a cyberattack Monday that forced the company to stop production in its Japanese factories. The disruption is reportedly still ongoing, but with no timeline for recovery. Asahi Group disclosed the attack in a press release, saying it was experiencing “a system failure” that forced the company to suspend order and shipment operations, as well as its call center operations. “At this time, there has been no confirmed leakage of personal information or customer data to external parties,” the press release read. On Tuesday, citing an Asahi spokesperson, Reuters reported that the company has yet to resume production, cannot foresee when production will resume, and is still investigating whether all its 30 plants across Japan have suspended operations. The company did not immediately respond to a series of questions from TechCrunch, including whether the cyberattack involved ransomware or a demand for money, and whether data was stolen.