Operations at the Duvel Moortgat brewery in Puurs, Antwerp province, were at a standstill on Wednesday morning due to a cyberattack, the brewery said, confirming a report in Het Nieuwsblad.
The brewery's security system was triggered at around 01:30am on Tuesday night because of a ransomware attack.
In this form of hacking, the perpetrator demands money from the target, whether a company or an individual, before granting access to the computer networks.
"But the systems worked fine," said a spokeswoman. "The IT division was immediately informed of the attack. Servers were shut down and production was halted at all the group's Belgian breweries as a security measure."
As well as the famous Duvel, which it produces at its historic Breendonk site, the Moortgat group brews Chouffe and Bolleke (De Koninck) in Antwerp and the Liefmans range in Oudenaarde. The Maredsous and Vedett brands are also produced in Breendonk.
"The IT division is doing its utmost to get the servers up and running again as quickly and safely as possible. The impact should be limited, and there is more than enough stock at present," added the spokesperson.
An investigation is under way to determine the origin of the attack.
