Tokyo (AFP) – Japanese beer giant Asahi said Thursday it was not negotiating with the hackers behind a “sophisticated and cunning” ransomware attack that is about to enter its third month. “Even if we had a ransom demand, we would not have paid it,” CEO Atsushi Katsuki said. “We have not been in touch with the attacker. So we don’t know their specific demand,” he told a news conference as the firm again delayed the release of financial results.
The maker of Asahi Super Dry, one of Japan’s most popular beers, said on September 29 that it was hit by the ransomware cyberattack, becoming the latest high-profile global corporate target. In such an incident, online actors use malicious software to lock or encrypt a victim’s systems and then demand payment to get them up and running again. The company on Thursday again stopped short of disclosing the identity or the demands of the attacker. But hacker group Qilin, believed to be based in Russia, has issued a statement that Japanese media interpreted as a claim of responsibility.
“We thought we had taken full and necessary measures (to prevent such an attack). But this attack was beyond our imagination. It was a sophisticated and cunning attack,” Katsuki said. Asahi had already delayed the release of third-quarter earnings and on Thursday said that full-year results had also been postponed. These and further information on the impact of the hack “on overall corporate performance will be disclosed as soon as possible once the systems have been restored and the relevant data confirmed,” it said.
Regarding product supply, shipments are resuming in stages as system recovery progresses. “We apologise for the continued inconvenience and appreciate your understanding,” it said. Output at Asahi’s 30 domestic factories was not directly affected by the system shutdown, but production had to stop due to the company-wide problem. The brewer said early last month that production at six beer factories had resumed, while it was processing orders by hand in an effort to swerve potential drinks shortages. Japanese media reported last week that it would take until February for Asahi to restore its systems.
Other global brands have recently experienced similar attacks. Indian-owned Jaguar Land Rover was forced to seek emergency funding after a damaging cyberattack halted operations at its British factories. Japanese retailer Muji said in October that it had stopped its domestic online shopping service after a ransomware attack on delivery partner Askul. A survey released in June found that a third of Japanese businesses have experienced cyberattacks of some sort.
“Japan has always been a little bit complacent in terms of cybersecurity,” Renata Naurzalieva, director of Japan operations at business development consultancy Intralink, told AFP. High-profile cases are “a terrible thing” but “I do hope that it opens the eyes for the wider sector that — guys, you need to up your game,” she said. “A lot of Japanese companies…when they think about investment in cyber security, they still try to justify the return on investment,” Naurzalieva added. But “it’s not the return on investment that you’re looking for, it’s, ‘can it protect my assets, can it protect my network data’.”
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