Japanese beverage producer hit by cyberattack, operations disrupted, stores report low beer stocks

A major Japanese beverage producer says it has been hit by a cyberattack that left its operations disrupted for the fifth day on Friday, and Japanese media are reporting that stocks of the company’s popular beer and other beverages are running low in some stores.Asahi Group Holdings said its computer systems were hit by a cyberattack on Monday, creating glitches that have affected orders, shipments and a customer call centre in Japan. Overseas systems were not affected.

A company spokeswoman told The Associated Press on Friday that the problem had still not been fixed, though some emergency shipments were made on Wednesday, with employees entering information into computer systems manually.

The cause and motive of the attacks were still under investigation, the spokeswoman said. She requested anonymity, which is customary for Japanese companies.Japanese media said some convenience stores weren’t getting their deliveries and that stocks were low and the products were even being sold out in some places.

A 7-Eleven convenience store in Tokyo visited by an AP reporter on Friday evening still stocked plenty of Asahi beer, though the saleswoman said she expected the stocks to start running low soon.

It’s unclear when the system will be back up and running, Asahi said. The company has cancelled events and is delaying the launch of products. Some Japanese media reports said the attacks may be ransomware, but Asahi declined to comment.

Tokyo-based Asahi, founded in 1949, makes beer, including its popular Super Dry rice lager and other beverages, including cider and juices, as well as baby food, candy and some other food products.