Japanese retailer Muji has suspended much of its online operations after its delivery partner, Askul, suffered a ransomware attack. The cyber incident has led to a system outage at Askul, which handles Muji’s e-commerce logistics in Japan, resulting in halted order acceptance, shipping operations, disrupted online shopping, inaccessible order histories in the Muji app, and broken web content.
Table of Contents
Key points from the incident:
- The attack is limited to the Japanese branch of Muji, with stores in other countries remaining unaffected.
- Both Askul and Muji are assessing the potential exposure of customer data, including names, addresses, emails, and financial information, which could pose identity theft risks if compromised.
- Askul stated, “We are currently investigating the extent of the impact, including the leak of personal information and customer data, and will notify you as soon as it is clear.”
- This incident follows several recent third-party breaches in retail and manufacturing—Japanese beer giant Asahi and Jaguar Land Rover also faced severe disruptions from similar cyberattacks.
- The case highlights broader vulnerability issues in modern supply chains, especially for businesses reliant on outside vendors who may not have robust cybersecurity defenses.
Muji and Askul’s situation is the latest reminder for retailers and manufacturers to strengthen cybersecurity, demand transparency, and ensure their partners are also well-protected against ransomware threats.
