Asahi Beer Confirms Data Breach Impacting 1.5 Million Individuals

Asahi Group Holdings, the leading beer producer in Japan, has recently completed an investigation into a cyberattack that occurred in September. The findings reveal that approximately 1.9 million individuals have been affected by the breach.

The compromised data includes sensitive information such as full names, genders, physical addresses, phone numbers, and email addresses. This data could potentially be used in phishing schemes, posing a significant threat to the affected individuals.

The cyberattack, which forced Asahi to halt production and shipping operations, was first disclosed on September 29. Initially, there was no evidence of unauthorized access to customer data. However, it was later confirmed that a ransomware attack had occurred, resulting in the theft of data.

The disclosure led to the emergence of Qilin ransomware, claiming responsibility for the breach and asserting possession of 27GB of Asahi’s data. The hackers even released samples of the stolen files on their data leak site to substantiate their claims.

According to a press release from Asahi, the breach has impacted various categories of individuals, including 1,525,000 customers, 114,000 external contacts, and 107,000 employees along with their family members. The exposed data ranges from basic personal information to more sensitive details like dates of birth.

Fortunately, no payment card information was compromised in the breach. Asahi has set up a dedicated contact line for affected parties to seek information and assistance regarding their exposed personal data.

Asahi’s CEO, Atsushi Katsuki, has stated that the company is still in the process of restoring its systems, two months after the initial breach. Efforts are being made to strengthen information security measures and prevent similar incidents in the future.

Measures being implemented include revamped communication channels, enhanced network controls, restrictions on external internet connections, upgraded threat-detection systems, security audits, and improved backup and business continuity plans.

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