Reigis Muca, an aspiring
Network Engineer SOC Analyst IAM Engineer ML Engineer Cybersecurity Engineer

Late in September 2025, Japan’s leading brewer, Asahi Group, became the latest high-profile victim of a cyber-attack that halted large parts of its domestic operations. The incident affected the company’s core digital systems which include order processing, shipment logistics and call centre functions causing widespread disruption in production and distribution across Japan. As a result, major retailers and bars began warning customers that stocks of Asahi’s popular products, such as Super Dry beer and other beverages, could run low or disappear from shelves entirely.

What struck me about this incident is how a single successful breach can ripple outward from digital infrastructure into everyday life and commerce. Despite the attack being confined to internal systems, the effects were tangible: restaurants scrambled for alternative suppliers, convenience stores prepared for shortages, and Asahi was forced to manually process some orders while it worked to restore normal operations.

We are unable to provide a clear timeline for recovery.

Asahi

From a cyber security perspective, the Asahi attack emphasises a few important points. First, even organisations with strong brand recognition and market dominance are not immune to disruption when their IT and operational networks are compromised. Second, it highlights the fragility of digital-first supply chain systems. If the digital backbone fails, the physical outputs (beer on shelves, food and drink distribution, logistics pipelines) suffer almost immediately. Third, the incident serves as a reminder that resilience planning must go beyond basic protection and include robust incident response, contingency operations and clear communication strategies.

My Summary

In my view, this story isn’t just about beer shortages. It’s a real-world example of how cyber security isn’t abstract or distant, but something that affects everyday products, businesses and people. As industries continue to digitise and interconnect, the Asahi case shows why cyber resilience needs to be a priority at every level from boardrooms to engineers on the ground.

High-profile cyber incidents often feel distant until they affect organisations we interact with daily. The cyber attack on Jaguar Land Rover stood out to me because it highlighted how even well resourced, global companies remain vulnerable to modern threats. As a cyber security student, incidents like this turn theoretical risks into real-world lessons.

From a personal perspective, the JLR attack reinforced why cyber security is no longer just a technical concern, but a critical part of business resilience. The disruption caused by an attack of this scale shows how quickly operations, reputation, and customer trust can be impacted when systems are compromised.

We are considering different stages of a controlled restart of our global operations.

Jaguar Land Rover

The attack reportedly resulted in the temporary shutdown of certain IT systems, affecting internal operations and access to employee platforms. While details were understandably limited, the incident appeared to involve unauthorised access rather than a simple technical failure. This highlights a recurring issue in cyber security: attackers often exploit weaknesses in access control, credentials, or interconnected systems rather than targeting infrastructure directly.

What stood out to me was not the sophistication of the attack itself, but the reminder that complexity can work against organisations. Large enterprises rely on extensive digital ecosystems, making visibility and control increasingly difficult without strong monitoring and detection processes in place.

Why This Incident Matters

As someone preparing for a career in cyber security, this incident served as a reminder that defensive measures must evolve alongside threats. Detection, logging, and response capabilities are just as important as perimeter security. Attacks are not always obvious, and without visibility, organisations may not realise the scale of an issue until disruption occurs.

The JLR attack also highlighted the importance of understanding risk from both a technical and organisational viewpoint. Cyber security professionals need to communicate risk clearly, support recovery efforts, and contribute to long term resilience rather than focusing solely on prevention.

Ultimately, this incident reinforced why I am pursuing cyber security as a career path. Real world attacks like this emphasise the need for continuous improvement, practical skills, and a strong understanding of how security decisions affect entire organisations. For me, it was a clear example of how cyber security directly supports operational stability in the modern digital landscape.

Over the past year, I’ve been working on a computer vision based Intrusion Detection System as part of my studies in cyber security and artificial intelligence. The aim of this project was to explore how real time monitoring and automation can be used to detect potential security breaches within defined physical spaces, using CCTV footage rather than traditional sensors alone.

What made this project particularly interesting to me was the opportunity to combine theory with practical implementation. I designed the system to analyse live or recorded video feeds frame by frame, identify human movement within virtual detection zones, and trigger automated alerts when an intrusion is detected. By using Python, OpenCV, and a YOLO-v4-tiny deep learning model, the system is able to balance detection accuracy with performance, making it suitable for real time use on limited hardware.

A key part of the development process involved refining detection boundaries and reducing false positives. I implemented on screen visual alerts, bounding boxes, and confidence scores to clearly show when and why an intrusion was detected. In addition, I added evidence logging and integrated Pushover notifications, allowing alerts to be sent directly to a mobile device. This helped simulate how such a system could be used in real world residential or small commercial environments.

From a cyber security perspective, this project reinforced how important automation and visibility are in modern security operations. Rather than relying solely on manual monitoring, AI assisted surveillance can significantly improve response times and reduce human error. While this system is still a prototype with room for improvement, it demonstrates how computer vision can play a meaningful role alongside traditional security controls.

My Summary

Overall, building this Intrusion Detection System helped me develop practical skills in computer vision, Python programming, system integration, and security automation. More importantly, it gave me a clearer understanding of how emerging technologies can be applied to real security challenges, which is something I aim to continue exploring as I move forward in my cyber security career.