Asos customers received a threatening ‘hack’ notification; shares fell by more than 12%

Thousands of Asos customers woke up on Tuesday to an unusual notification in the British online retailer’s app, as The Times reports. The message, in threatening tones, claimed that attackers had “fully compromised” an instance of the Snowflake cloud platform and demanded contact, otherwise the data would be leaked — while the notification was accompanied by a link to a Telegram account.

According to The Sun, the message was addressed to the company’s “DPO” (data protection officer) and IT department: “Dear Asos DPO and IT, we have fully compromised the Snowflake instance. Engage with us, or we will leak it.” More than 400 customers reported the incident on the Downdetector platform, while Asos shares fell by more than 12% on the London stock exchange, dropping as low as 438 pence.

The company’s website and app continued to function normally throughout, while Asos gave no immediate comment on the incident. The news is still developing and the company has not confirmed the attackers’ claim, so the event is being treated as a reported incident, not as a verified hack.

The case comes after a wave of cyberattacks that have hit British retailers, including Marks & Spencer and Harrods, reviving concerns about the security of consumer data in online commerce.