Japan's largest brewery biz, Asahi, has shut down distribution systems following an online attack, and local drinkers will just have to make do with stocks as they stand.
"Asahi Group Holdings is currently experiencing a system failure caused by a cyberattack, affecting operations in Japan," it said in a statement.
"We are actively investigating the cause and working to restore operations; however, there is currently no estimated timeline for recovery. The system failure is limited to our operations within Japan."
Attackers have not stolen any customer personal information or commercial data, Asahi said. But its shipping systems for Japan are down, and the company also took its call center system offline.
The domestic Japanese market accounts for around half of Asahi's profits, so shutting down operations is a big deal, and it might - like Jaguar - have problems getting things going again. Reports indicate that the shutdown hasn’t affected European operations or Asahi facilities elsewhere.
The Register hasn't seen Asahi's name on any ransomware dark web sites so far, but it may be that negotiations are ongoing. We've asked Asahi for more details and we will update if they come in.
While known primarily for its "super dry" beer range, Asahi has become a sprawling drinks empire, buying up the UK's Fuller's brewery chain, plus Peroni, Grolsch, and other popular brands. The firm appears to be a large enough target to attract the interests of criminals, who have been taking down a number of name-targets in the sector of late.
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Thieves crippled food and drink deliveries to Marks and Spencer in April and the retailer had to revert to manual systems and severely limit online sales. The outage ended up costing the firm around $300 million
Another UK food and drink vendor, the Co-operative Group suffered similar problems in April and estimated the attack had cost it $108 million in lost business.
If the costs of such attacks are so huge, then why don't companies pay the ransom and go back to business? Around a quarter of ransom demands are paid, according to industry estimates, but there is little honor among thieves and plenty of people who coughed up the cash ended up getting stiffed anyway. ®