Asahi Group Hit by Ransomware Attack, Causing Major Sales Decline and Supply Chain Disruptions
Asahi Group Holdings Ltd. reported a sharp decline in November alcohol sales in Japan, worsening from a nearly 10% year-over-year drop in October to over 20% in November. The decline was attributed to a September ransomware attack that crippled internal systems, disrupting production, order processing, and shipments—particularly for year-end gift products. While soft drinks and food sales showed partial recovery, soft drinks still fell 25% (down from 40% in October), and food products dipped 10% (improving from a 20% decline).
The attack forced Asahi to rely on manual transaction processing, slowing operations and allowing competitors like Kirin Holdings (which saw a 1% sales increase) and Sapporo Holdings (down 12%) to gain market share. Asahi expects its supply chain to be largely restored by February but warned of a "short-term impact" on earnings, delaying its financial results by over 50 days.
In November, Asahi disclosed that up to 1.9 million records of private information may have been compromised, with additional leaked data appearing on the dark web this week. No ransom was paid. Despite the disruptions, Asahi’s shares rose 0.2% on Wednesday, up 6.2% for the year.
Source: https://www.claimsjournal.com/news/national/2025/12/10/334494.htm
Asahi Holdings Southeast Asia Sdn Bhd cybersecurity rating report: https://www.rankiteo.com/company/asahi-group-holdings-sea
"id": "ASA1765382073",
"linkid": "asahi-group-holdings-sea",
"type": "Ransomware",
"date": "9/2025",
"severity": "100",
"impact": "5",
"explanation": "Attack threatening the organization's existence"{'affected_entities': [{'industry': 'Beverage (Alcohol and Soft Drinks)',
'location': 'Japan',
'name': 'Asahi Group Holdings Ltd.',
'type': 'Corporation'}],
'data_breach': {'data_exfiltration': 'Additional information leaked on the '
'dark web',
'number_of_records_exposed': '1.9 million',
'personally_identifiable_information': 'Private information',
'type_of_data_compromised': 'Private information'},
'date_detected': '2023-09',
'description': 'Asahi Group Holdings Ltd. experienced a ransomware attack in '
'September that crippled production and distribution systems, '
'leading to a significant decline in alcohol sales in Japan. '
'The attack forced the company to process transactions '
'manually, resulting in operational slowdowns and market share '
'losses to competitors. The incident also potentially '
'compromised up to 1.9 million records of private information.',
'impact': {'data_compromised': 'Up to 1.9 million records of private '
'information',
'operational_impact': 'Manual processing of transactions, slowed '
'operations',
'revenue_loss': 'Short-term impact to earnings in Japan',
'systems_affected': 'Key internal systems managing order and '
'shipments in Japan'},
'ransomware': {'data_exfiltration': 'Yes',
'ransom_paid': 'No ransom money was paid'},
'references': [{'source': 'Bloomberg',
'url': 'https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/...'}],
'response': {'recovery_measures': 'Aiming for supply chain restoration by '
'February 2024'},
'title': 'Asahi Group Holdings Cyberattack Impacting Production and '
'Distribution',
'type': 'Ransomware'}