Asahi delays results due to cyber attack as 1.5m customer details accessed

(Sharecast News) - Japanese brewing giant Asahi on Thursday said the personal details of more than 1.5 million customers had been accessed in a cyber attack last September as it also delayed publication of its full-year results. The attack, which involved data being encrypted using ransomware - a virus that blocks information until payment to the hackers is made, resulted in employees to take orders by pen and paper.

Personal details of the 1.52 million customers, specifically names, gender, addresses and contact information, could be leaked.

Data belonging to about 107,000 current and former employees and 168,000 family members of staff were also accessed as were the name and contact details of 114,000 external contacts that had communicated with the firm.

Credit card details were not included, Asahi said.

It added that it has not confirmed any evidence of the data being released and that the impact of the attack is limited to systems managed in Japan. The company also owns major brands such as Peroni and Fuller's Brewery in the UK.

Following a forensic investigation by external experts, the phased restoration of systems and devices confirmed to be secure would begin as Asahi reconfigured its computer network.

"Connections to external parties via the internet-including email and web applications-will be limited to secure zones, strengthening the overall resilience of the system," the company said in a statement.

Indian-owned Jaguar Land Rover was forced to seek emergency funding after a damaging cyberattack halted operations at its UK factories earlier this year, while British retailer Marks & Spencer had to shut down online operations when its systems were infiltrated at a cost of more than £300m in lost sales.

Reporting by Frank Prenesti for Sharecast.com