Asahi Cyberattack Exposes 1.5M Customers' Data

Japanese beverage giant Asahi Group Holdings disclosed on Thursday that a cyberattack on September 29 potentially exposed personal information belonging to about 1.5 million customers and hundreds of thousands of employees and associates. The incident, which targeted the company's systems in Japan, involved ransomware that encrypted servers and employee computers, leading to widespread operational disruptions.

The attack began when intruders gained access to the data center network through equipment at a group company site, according to Asahi's investigation. Attackers deployed malware that not only locked systems but also allowed them to steal data from company-issued PCs and servers. The compromised information includes names, genders, postal addresses, phone numbers, and email addresses of individuals who contacted customer service for Asahi Breweries, Asahi Soft Drinks, or Asahi Group Foods. In total, the breach may affect 1.525 million such customers, along with 107,000 current and former employees, 168,000 family members, and 114,000 external contacts. Asahi emphasized that credit card details were not involved and no stolen data has surfaced online.