Star Metro - Cyberattack halts shipments from Japan's biggest brewer

Asahi Group, producer of Japan's most popular beers, said Monday it had "experienced a system failure" owing to a cyberattack that forced the suspension of orders and shipments of various beverages -- including its flagship Asahi Super Dry.

"No immediate recovery of our system is in sight at the moment. Ordinary shipments remain halted," a spokesperson, who declined to be named, told AFP on Friday.

"Production is not directly affected (by the system dysfunction) but it has been halted because shipments are suspended."

The company said it was looking into the possibility of a ransomware attack after announcing in Monday's statement that its local operations had been hit.

The news is worrying for Japan's ubiquitous convenience stores, who are major stockists of Asahi beer.

A spokesperson for Seven & I Holdings, which operates the 7-11 convenience store chain, said it was preparing to put up notices to warn customers of the suspension, but added that the halt "had not yet caused major disruptions".

"We don't expect (Asahi drinks) to disappear from all our stores at once, although it all depends on how sales will go at each of these outlets."

AFP visited several convenience stores and supermarkets in Tokyo Friday, all of which still had stock.

Asahi Group's shares are down almost seven percent from last Friday's close.

The attack comes after a cyberattack halted operations at Jaguar Land Rover's British factories for almost a month.

The Indian-owned automaker said on September 2 that it had been targeted by hackers, severely disrupting sales and production and forcing it to seek emergency funding.

The firm announced on Monday that it would partially restart production.

P.Graham--SMC