Tag: news

TOKYO — Japan’s best selling beer saw shortages this week across the country, as the nation is reminded of the consequences of cybercrime.

Asahi Super Dry ran short across stores and restaurants after its parent company, Asahi Group Holdings, fell victim to a ransomware attack at the end of last month.

The attack forced Asahi to halt production at most of its 30 factories nationwide earlier this month, although operations have since begun to resume, according to CNN reports. On Tuesday, a cybercrime group by the name of Qilin claimed responsibility for the attack, in which several internal documents were seized, according to Comparitech, a cybersecurity research company.

Qilin’s own data leak site claims the group stole 27GB of data, consisting of “financial documents, budgets and contracts, as well as personal data of employees, plans and development forecasts of the company.”

Asahi reported the security breach on Sept. 29 and is still investigating its scope, according to Comparitech. The company has yet to confirm any of Qilin’s claims and it remains unknown whether any ransom has been paid.

Qilin started in 2022 as a ransomware gang and has since taken credit for 578 attacks, 105 of which have been confirmed by the companies targeted, Comparitech reported. Based in Russia, the group operates as a business, offering its malware and capabilities to affiliates under a ‘ransomware-as-a-service’ model.

Analysis – Cybersecurity in Japan

The data breach raises questions about the current state of Japan’s cybersecurity. Asahi Group Holdings, beer and beverage giants and owners of foreign brands like Peroni and Pilsner Urquell, were not the only ones recently hit. In the past five months alone, Qilin has taken credit for three cyberattacks on other Japanese companies.

Despite Japan’s cultural emphasis on quality and safety, many businesses still rely on outdated systems and traditional methods of operation. CNN reported the country is “beset by a lack of skilled tech workers” and suffers from low digital literacy rates among its ageing population. According to the same report, the shortage of cybersecurity professionals is severe, and the supply and demand gap for those talents rapidly widens at a global level.

As one of Japan’s largest firms falls victim to cybercrime, other companies are warned of the dangers of insufficient cybersecurity. The breach underscores the growing pressure on the nation’s firms to revise protocol and strengthen their systems, both at a technological and human level, in order to be prepared against novel threats in the digital realm.