The Aporia · Asos customers receive ‘hack’ notification threatening leak

Asos customers receive ‘hack’ notification threatening leak

Read the original at The Guardian ↗

Cite

APA MLA Chicago

Butler, S. (2026, October 6). Asos customers receive ‘hack’ notification threatening leak. The Guardian. https://www.theguardian.com/business/2026/oct/06/asos-hack-notification-website-app

Dated when The Aporia collected the article, usually within hours of publication. Check the original for its exact date and byline.

Quick Summary

Asos is investigating claims that a hacker notification sent to customers through the mobile app may indicate a data breach involving their Snowflake cloud platform, which stores sensitive customer information such as transaction records and personal details. Following the notification, Asos shares dropped by nearly 12% on the London Stock Exchange. Security experts warn of potential phishing attacks exploiting concerns over the alleged breach, advising customers to be cautious with communications claiming to come from Asos. This incident follows a series of cyberattacks against other British retailers in recent months, causing disruptions such as stock shortages and website outages.

Written by AI on 2026-10-06, from this article's own text only (the story summary below draws on all the coverage).

AI analysis

Story summary

On Tuesday morning, ASOS customers received a phone alert claiming the retailer had been hacked. The message included a link to a Telegram chat threatening to leak customer data unless ASOS engaged with the hackers. Snowflake, an online platform used for storing and analyzing large amounts of data, was cited as being compromised by the alleged attackers.

More than 400 customers reported issues on Downdetector, and ASOS's shares fell almost 12% on the London Stock Exchange. The company acknowledged the issue but stated that it did not believe payment card information or account passwords were impacted, though personal data such as names and contact details may have been accessed.

ASOS has 17 million customers in over 150 countries, with the UK being its largest market at 49% of revenues. The company is currently undergoing a major turnaround program to halt declining sales and return to profit. Previous high-profile retail hacks include those on Marks & Spencer and Harrods.

Cyber experts warn that these incidents create ideal conditions for phishing attacks, urging customers to be wary of potential follow-up communications from ASOS or any other suspicious emails or texts.

Written for “Asos Data Breach” on 2026-11-02, grounded in this article and the 15 other(s) covering the same event.

Compared with similar articles

How this article was measured signals, leaning charts, publisher record, byline, topics and claims

Signals How these are calculated →

Claims extracted

sentences that state something as happening or true

Uncertain

20%

3 of 15 hedged ("reportedly", "may", "according to")

Leaning

not political

takes no side on a contested political question

Publisher signals

66/100

The Guardian's corrections and hedging, across everything collected from it. Not a measure of accuracy.

Outlets on this story

Technology

Same framing elsewhere

articles that frame the event the way this one does

Analyzed 2026-10-06 · how these are computed

How this is being covered How these are calculated →

Article leaning vs. publisher reliability

Source leaning vs. consistency

Publisher

The Guardian · 2822 article(s) · 6 correction(s) detected

Running correction rate · 6 correction(s)

2026-10-19

Mother assessed as posing no immediate risk to others three weeks before Elizabeth Struhs’ manslaughter, inquest hears

2026-10-14

Rachel Smith will turn 39 in prison. The high court says she could freeze her eggs from behind bars

2026-10-03

Tennessee’s top prison official resigning after botched execution of Christa Pike

2026-10-01

Tennessee governor suspends all executions after Christa Pike’s lethal injections fail

2026-09-28

Extra 1,000 prison beds announced in NSW as union warns against arresting ‘our way out of domestic violence’

2026-09-05

Australia’s housing prices are trending down. See which suburbs have had the biggest falls

Who wrote this

Sarah Butler

19 article(s) here · 1 carrying a prediction

🔮 The legal measure, which is expected to be approved by a court on Thursday, protects Poundland from the demands of creditors for 10 days while a solution to its problems is sought.

2026-10-29 · assertive framing · Poundland on brink of administration, with 12,000 jobs at risk

🔮 The business secretary has written to the owner of Poundland amid fears that the cut-price retailer could collapse into administration, threatening to overshadow John Healey’s budget.

2026-10-28 · assertive framing · Business secretary writes to Poundland owner as administration fears build

🔮 So far this year 36 branches within the high street chain formerly known as WH Smith have closed and a further 34 are set to close by early 2027, according to Post Office records analysed by the Guardian. TG Jones was bought and renamed by Modella last year.

2026-10-24 · assertive framing · More than third of post offices in TG Jones stores to shut by early 2027

🔮 The measure could raise up to an extra £1bn by forcing them to collect VAT on behalf of large-scale sellers based in the UK as well as those overseas.

2026-10-22 · assertive framing · Save high street by taxing online sales at higher rate, Burnham urged

🔮 The upmarket grocer will open the store on Thursday and another supermarket in Hale Barns, Greater Manchester, next month.

2026-10-22 · assertive framing · Waitrose opens first new supermarket in eight years in north London

🔮 They want the Nics threshold raised to £6,000, arguing this would help create jobs and ease inflation pressures on high streets.

2026-10-13 · assertive framing · UK high street bosses urge chancellor to cut cost of employing young people

🔮 The former UK chancellor Rachel Reeves said she would get rid of the UK’s rule, which allows overseas sellers to send goods valued at £135 or less direct to British shoppers without paying any customs duty, by 2028.

2026-10-09 · assertive framing · Shein outsells British rival Asos as UK revenue hits £2.58bn

🔮 They may be two of the most recognisable brands in Britain, with a combined 188 years serving shoppers, but industry watchers agree that either Asda or Morrisons – or both – could disappear within a decade.

2026-10-08 · mixed framing · Supermarket shake-up: why Asda or Morrisons could vanish within a decade

🔮 Tesco has raised its annual profit forecast as the supermarket group said consumer confidence has remained relatively resilient this year despite ongoing geopolitical tensions “creating uncertainty”.

2026-10-08 · assertive framing · Tesco lifts profit forecast and says consumer confidence is resilient

🔮 Criminals may exploit the publicity by sending emails and texts claiming to be from Asos, perhaps asking customers to reset a password, confirm payment details, check an order or claim a refund.”

2026-10-06 · assertive framing · Asos customers receive ‘hack’ notification threatening leak

Also by Sarah Butler

Poundland on brink of administration, with 12,000 jobs at risk

2026-10-29 · The Guardian

Toblerone owner sues British vegan chocolate brand over chunky shape

2026-10-29 · The Guardian

Business secretary writes to Poundland owner as administration fears build

2026-10-28 · The Guardian

More than third of post offices in TG Jones stores to shut by early 2027

2026-10-24 · The Guardian

Nothing else under this byline is closely related to this article, so these are simply their most recent.

All 19 articles by Sarah Butler →

Topics

Asos Huntress Snowflake Telegram the London Stock Exchange

Subjects

Asos ORG · 6× Asos DPO ORG · 1× British NORP · 1× Dray Agha PERSON · 1× Huntress ORG · 1× Marijus Briedis PERSON · 1× Marks & Spencer ORG · 1× NordVPN ORG · 1× Telegram ORG · 1× the London Stock Exchange ORG · 1×

Narrative

The value of Asos’s shares on the London Stock Exchange dived almost 12% after thousands of customers received a notification titled “Asos hacked” with a link that sent them to the Telegram messaging service.

framing: assertive · carried by 1 article(s) · first seen 2026-10-06

2026-10-06 · The Guardian

Asos customers receive ‘hack’ notification threatening leak · assertive framing

Claims (15 extracted, 3 hedged)

Asos is investigating after users of its mobile app received a notification claiming hackers had “fully compromised” the online fashion retailer’s data. asserted

hackers → investigate → data

that → dive → service

The website and app appeared to be continuing to operate on Tuesday morning and it is understood that Asos is still investigating whether any hack has taken place. asserted

hack → appear → place

The message sent out to customers said: “Dear Asos DPO [data protection officer] and IT, we have fully compromised the Snowflake instance.” asserted

we → send → instance

Snowflake is a cloud platform used to store, process and analyse data including transactions and demographic information such as clothing sizes and body measurements. asserted

Snowflake → use → sizes

It also enables push notifications to clients’ phones. asserted

It → enable → phones

Dray Agha, the senior manager of security operations at Huntress, an online security firm, said: “Snowflake is a massive cloud database where retailers typically store sensitive customer information – it is a real worry if cyber criminals have indeed accessed it as they claim. uncertain

they → say → it

The push notification suggests attackers have breached the systems controlling the Asos mobile app also. uncertain

attackers → suggest → app

“Sending a ransom demand directly to consumer devices is an aggressive extortion tactic designed to force the business into a quick negotiation. asserted

Sending → send → negotiation

I strongly advise shoppers to watch out for targeted phishing attempts while we wait for official confirmation of a data breach.” asserted

we → advise → breach

Marijus Briedis, the chief technology officer at the online service provider NordVPN, said: “What customers should be particularly alert to now is what happens next. asserted

what → say → What

High-profile cyber incidents create ideal conditions for phishing attacks. asserted

incidents → create → attacks

Criminals may exploit the publicity by sending emails and texts claiming to be from Asos, perhaps asking customers to reset a password, confirm payment details, check an order or claim a refund.” uncertain

Criminals → exploit → refund

The potential hack comes after a string of British retailers including Marks & Spencer, the Co-op and Harrods suffered cyber incidents last year. asserted

string → come → incidents

M&S and the Co-op experienced stock shortages and the former was forced to close its website for several weeks as it battled to ensure its systems were clean. asserted

systems → experience → weeks