Asahi halts most Japan production after cyberattack

Asahi Group Holdings, Japan's largest brewer, halted most domestic production and suspended order, shipment and customer service functions after a cyberattack that began on the morning of September 29, the company said. The outage left the majority of the group's roughly 30 Japanese factories at a standstill, disrupted deliveries to retailers and prompted warnings that supplies of its flagship Asahi Super Dry could run short within days.

Asahi said the incident disabled its system-based ordering and shipment processes and forced call centres and customer service desks to close. The company initially reported no confirmed leak of personal or customer information but later said investigations found evidence consistent with a ransomware infection and traces suggesting a possible unauthorized transfer of data. Asahi has established an Emergency Response Headquarters, is working with external cybersecurity experts and has reported the matter to police, the company said, though it has not given a timetable for full restoration.

The disruption rapidly rippled through Japan's retail and hospitality sectors. Convenience chains and supermarket operators posted notices in some stores that...