Nichirei cyberattack disrupts frozen food supply, hits KFC

A major Japanese food and logistics conglomerate has confirmed a cyberattack that disrupted its frozen food supply chain, causing widespread delivery delays and forcing restaurant chain KFC Japan to temporarily suspend online orders and warn of potential store closures. Nichirei Corporation announced that unauthorized access to its servers was detected on July 13, leading to significant operational disruptions that began impacting its customers, including KFC, by July 14.

In response to the incident, Nichirei disconnected systems across its group to contain the breach and protect data, a move that halted inbound and outbound operations at its refrigerated warehouses and stopped frozen food shipments. The company stated it has been working with external cybersecurity specialists and plans to gradually resume affected operations starting from July 17 after implementing additional security measures. While the full financial impact is still being assessed, Nichirei expects to release its scheduled quarterly financial results on August 7.

The attack's consequences quickly rippled through the supply chain, most notably affecting KFC Japan, which relies on Nichirei Logistics for...