ASOS app users receive threatening ransom notification from hackers

ASOS app users across the UK received push notifications on Tuesday, 6 October, containing a message apparently sent by hackers demanding engagement or threatening to leak company data. The message, addressed to ASOS's data protection officer and IT team, stated: "Dear ASOS DPO and IT, we have fully compromised the Snowflake instance. Engage with us, or we will leak it." The notification included a link to a Telegram channel created by a group calling itself Xuanye Group, which has no known history of previous cyber attacks.

The incident is considered particularly serious by cybersecurity experts because the attackers appear to have compromised multiple systems within ASOS. Sending a push notification to app users requires access to ASOS's notification infrastructure, which is separate from Snowflake—the cloud data platform mentioned in the ransom message. This suggests attackers obtained credentials granting access to more than one part of the company's systems. The notification was delivered to a large portion of ASOS's user base, though the exact number of affected users remains unclear.

ASOA's share price fell approximately 5 percent following the notification. The company did not immediately respond to media inquiries or post about the incident on its social media accounts. ASOS reports 17 million customers annually across more than 150 countries. UK law requires companies to report data breaches to regulators within three days and to notify affected individuals in cases of high-risk breaches. Cybersecurity experts have urged users not to click on links in the notification or follow the Telegram channel, and to reset passwords by visiting the ASOS website directly rather than through the app.