Japan’s Favorite Beer Vanishes After Ransomware Attack
▼ Summary
– Asahi Super Dry beer is facing imminent shortages in Japan due to a cyber attack that has shut down most of its domestic breweries since Monday.
– The cyber attack has disabled Asahi Group’s ordering and delivery systems, halting operations at nearly all of its 30 factories in Japan.
– Major retailers like Lawson warn that Asahi products will become increasingly out of stock, with supermarkets potentially running out of Super Dry in 2-3 days.
– Retailers plan to substitute with other brands like Suntory or Kirin, but many customers remain loyal to Super Dry’s specific taste.
– This incident follows other disruptive cyber attacks on major companies, including one that halted Jaguar Land Rover’s production for a month.
Japan faces a potential nationwide shortage of its top-selling beer, Asahi Super Dry, following a severe ransomware attack that has halted production at the majority of the brewer’s domestic facilities. The cyber incident has crippled ordering and delivery systems, forcing nearly all of Asahi Group’s thirty Japanese factories to cease operations since the beginning of the week. With no clear restart date in sight, retailers anticipate barren shelves as the disruption enters its fourth consecutive day.
Convenience store chain Lawson issued a statement warning customers that numerous Asahi products could soon become unavailable. An executive from another major retail chain confirmed the severity of the situation, predicting that supermarkets may exhaust their Super Dry inventory within two to three days. Other Asahi food items could disappear from stores in about a week. While retailers plan to substitute with competing brands like Suntory or Kirin, many consumers remain fiercely devoted to the distinctive taste of Asahi Super Dry.
Asahi Group has refrained from commenting on potential shortages or current stock levels at retail outlets. The company, which is Japan’s largest brewer, typically produces the equivalent of 6.7 million large bottles of beer daily across its domestic operations. The production halt threatens not only bottled beer availability but also draught supplies crucial for izakaya pubs throughout the country.
This cybersecurity breach at Asahi follows similar disruptive incidents affecting other major corporations globally. Earlier this week, Jaguar Land Rover required a £2 billion emergency credit line from the UK government after a month-long production stoppage caused by a separate devastating cyber attack.
(Source: Ars Technica)
