A cyberattack on Asahi Group Holdings resulted in the confirmed leak of over 115,000 sets of personal records belonging to both employees and corporate clients. Following significant operational disruptions at its domestic plants, the company has now implemented stricter security protocols and dedicated oversight to prevent future breaches.
Japanese beverage leader Asahi Group Holdings recently disclosed that a ransomware attack from last September compromised the personal information of 115,513 individuals. The majority of the affected data consists of the names and phone numbers of over 110,000 employees and executives at client firms. Additionally, the breach exposed the names and addresses of roughly 5,000 current and former Asahi Group workers, representing a more detailed look at the incident than previous estimates provided by the company.
The updated figures follow an earlier announcement in November when the company was still assessing the full scale of the damage. At that time, Asahi had only confirmed 18 leaked sets of data, though they warned that nearly two million records were potentially at risk. This latest report clarifies the specific volume of information that was definitively accessed during the security failure.
Beyond the loss of data, the cyberattack had a tangible impact on the company's physical operations. A major system glitch caused by the intrusion forced Asahi to halt production and shipments at the majority of its manufacturing facilities within Japan. During the period of the outage, staff were forced to process orders and manage logistics manually to maintain any level of business continuity.
In response to the vulnerability, Asahi has introduced a comprehensive plan to bolster its digital defenses. The company is upgrading its technical infrastructure to better detect and block suspicious activity within its internal networks and computer systems. These technical upgrades are designed to provide an early warning system that can intercept unauthorized movements before they escalate into full-scale system shutdowns or data extractions.
The company is also restructuring its management approach to information security by establishing a dedicated internal organization and appointing a specific executive to oversee the department. By combining these leadership changes with enhanced training programs for its workforce, Asahi aims to create a more resilient corporate culture regarding data protection. These measures are intended to restore trust with clients and employees after the significant disruption to the group's domestic supply chain.
Source: Cyberattack Exposes 115,000 Records From Asahi Group