Japanese beverage giant Asahi has revealed that a sweeping cyber-attack in September may have compromised the personal information of more than 1.5 million customers.
In a statement released on Thursday, the company said its investigation points to a ransomware breach that disrupted operations across several factories in Japan, forcing staff to process orders manually for weeks. Asahi reported that data belonging to customers who had contacted its service centres was likely accessed, and affected individuals will be notified.
The fallout has also prompted Asahi to delay its full-year financial results so management can focus on recovery efforts.
Although Asahi did not name the perpetrators or confirm ransom demands, the ransomware group Qilin has publicly claimed responsibility for the attack. Preliminary findings show that the breach began on 29 September, when the company detected abnormalities at one of its data centres. While systems were swiftly isolated, investigators later confirmed that the attackers had already infiltrated the network, encrypted files, and deployed ransomware.
According to Asahi, the exposed data includes names, gender, addresses, and contact details of 1.52 million customers. Information belonging to about 107,000 current and former employees and 168,000 family members may also have been leaked. Details of 114,000 external business contacts were potentially accessed as well. The company stressed that no credit-card information was compromised and that there is no evidence so far of the stolen data being released.
Asahi noted that the impact appears limited to systems operated in Japan. Its international brands—including Peroni and Fuller’s Brewery in the UK—remain unaffected.
The attack severely disrupted supply chains, leading to widespread shortages of Asahi beer and soft drinks such as ginger beer and soda water. The company, which holds roughly 40 percent of Japan’s beer market, spent nearly two months containing the breach and is now working to restore systems and rebuild its network.
President and CEO Atsushi Katsuki apologised for the inconvenience caused and said the firm is implementing stronger cyber-security measures to prevent similar incidents.
The breach comes amid a wave of cyber-attacks targeting major global brands, with Jaguar Land Rover among the latest companies hit by crippling ransomware disruptions.
