ASOS Customers Receive Alarming Pop-Up Messages Claiming Hackers Breached Snowflake

ASOS customers across the UK are receiving pop-up messages through the app that appear to have been sent by hackers attempting to blackmail the clothing retailer.

Dozens of people told the BBC they had seen unusual messages appear on their phone screens from clothing and beauty shopping apps.

“ASOS DPO and IT, we have fully compromised your Snowflake instance. Please engage with us or we will leak your information,” the message reads.

ASOS did not immediately respond to the BBC’s request for comment.

Customers confused by apparent ransom message

Dozens of people also posted about receiving the message on social media, saying they were confused about what it meant.

Although the apparent extortion message was sent directly to customers, it was addressed to ASOS’s data protection officer (DPO) and IT team.

The message claims that an anonymous hacker has “completely compromised a Snowflake instance”.

What is Snowflake?

Snowflake is a data storage company whose tools are used by dozens of businesses to collect, analyse and store information.

It is unclear whether ASOS is a Snowflake customer or what data, if any, is stored on the service.

However, Snowflake has been the subject of several high-profile data breaches in recent years and has been linked to incidents involving services such as Ticketmaster and Santander.

Experts say public disclosure is unusual

It is unusual for a potential data breach to be disclosed so publicly or for customers to be notified in this way.

Most extortion attempts and negotiations by cybercriminals take place behind closed doors, with hackers seeking quiet payments at their discretion.

“If confirmed, this is a very serious attack, because it appears the hackers were particularly brazen in turning ASOS’s own app into a ransom note,” said Charlotte Wilson, head of enterprise at cybersecurity firm Check Point.

“Millions of people trust notifications from apps on their phone because they come directly from the company.”