Japan Faces Beer Shortage After Major Producer Hit By Cyber Attack
Japan is facing a looming beer shortage as Asahi Group, the country’s largest brewer and producer of the iconic Super Dry beer, struggles to recover from a significant cyber attack. The attack, which crippled its ordering and delivery systems, has forced the shutdown of most of Asahi’s 30 domestic factories since Monday. With the outage lasting an entire week, major retailers and izakaya pubs are already bracing for depleted stocks, warning that Super Dry may vanish from shelves within days. Convenience store giant Lawson has cautioned that many Asahi products could soon be unavailable, while rival brands like Kirin and Suntory may temporarily fill the void.
The incident is part of a broader trend of escalating cyber threats targeting Japanese companies, many of which are criticized for lacking strong cyber defenses. According to the National Police Agency, ransomware attacks rose by a double digit percentage in 2024. Alarmingly, in nearly half of reported cases, recovery of compromised data took over a month. The Asahi breach, still under investigation, has already delayed the launch of several new products and forced the company to revert to paper-based logistics in trial scenarios.
Amid rising cyber threats, the Japanese government recently passed legislation granting itself broader powers to combat cybercrime, with officials warning that without urgent action, the nation’s safety and economic stability are at risk.
In today’s threat landscape, reactive defenses are no longer sufficient. Organizations must deploy robust, proactive monitoring solutions like NIKSUN that provide deep visibility across all layers of the network - from Layer 2 to Layer 7. This includes leveraging Intrusion Detection Systems (IDS), anomaly-based monitoring, and content-aware alerting to detect threats in real time before they disrupt operations. By correlating behavior across the entire digital environment, companies can not only identify and neutralize threats early, but also uncover patterns that signal evolving attack strategies. Without this level of insight, even industry giants like Asahi can find themselves paralyzed. Read more about this story on our LinkedIn page
The incident is part of a broader trend of escalating cyber threats targeting Japanese companies, many of which are criticized for lacking strong cyber defenses. According to the National Police Agency, ransomware attacks rose by a double digit percentage in 2024. Alarmingly, in nearly half of reported cases, recovery of compromised data took over a month. The Asahi breach, still under investigation, has already delayed the launch of several new products and forced the company to revert to paper-based logistics in trial scenarios.
Amid rising cyber threats, the Japanese government recently passed legislation granting itself broader powers to combat cybercrime, with officials warning that without urgent action, the nation’s safety and economic stability are at risk.
In today’s threat landscape, reactive defenses are no longer sufficient. Organizations must deploy robust, proactive monitoring solutions like NIKSUN that provide deep visibility across all layers of the network - from Layer 2 to Layer 7. This includes leveraging Intrusion Detection Systems (IDS), anomaly-based monitoring, and content-aware alerting to detect threats in real time before they disrupt operations. By correlating behavior across the entire digital environment, companies can not only identify and neutralize threats early, but also uncover patterns that signal evolving attack strategies. Without this level of insight, even industry giants like Asahi can find themselves paralyzed. Read more about this story on our LinkedIn page