A cyberattack on Japanese frozen food logistics giant Nichirei Group has forced KFC Japan to stop taking online orders and may lead to store closures, highlighting how ransomware can ripple through critical food supply chains.
Nichirei Group disclosed on July 13 that system failures caused by unauthorized access occurred at its refrigerated warehouses, halting shipments and normal operations. On July 15, the company confirmed the outage was a cyberattack and admitted attackers accessed a server storing personal information.
KFC Japan responded by suspending all orders through its app and website, warning that ingredient delivery to its stores would be affected. Some stores may be closed depending on the availability of ingredients. Nichirei Group hopes to resume operations by Friday, July 17.
The incident underscores a growing concern: supply chain attacks on logistics and cold-chain infrastructure can have cascading effects far beyond the initial victim. Food and beverage companies have become increasingly frequent targets for ransomware groups. While Nichirei has not disclosed the ransomware variant, the disruption to KFC operations demonstrates how a single compromised logistics provider can affect millions of customers.
