The ransomware attack was so disruptive it basically sent Asahi back to the Stone Age, with employees literally taking orders with pen and paper. Meanwhile, beer deliveries 🚚 slowed to a frustrating trickle, leaving plenty of people understandably frustrated. (We feel the pain!)

As a result, Asahi is delaying its full-year financial results so the company can focus on getting things back up and running.

According to the company’s investigation, the breach started on 29 September, when Asahi detected “disruptions” at one of its data centers. Unfortunately, by the time they isolated the system, the attacker had already broke in, encrypted data, and deployed ransomware. 💻

Rumor has it the suspected culprit is ransomware gang Qilin.

While only a small amount of employee data has been confirmed as leaked so far, the company says the real number potentially affected is far larger — including:

Basically… everyone. Except credit card details — so at least that’s one good thing.

So, if you noticed your fave Japanese beer and soft drinks becoming a bit more scarce these past two months? This is why.

The company says shipments are now gradually resuming, and systems are being restored after nearly two months of digital disaster recovery. Meanwhile, Asahi’s CEO, Atsushi Katsuki, has apologized and promised to beef-up cybersecurity going forward. 🍺