Photo via Evening Standard

Asos says customer data may have been accessed after ‘unauthorised activity’

Read the original at Evening Standard ↗
Cite

Saker-Clark, H. (2026, October 6). Asos says customer data may have been accessed after ‘unauthorised activity’. Evening Standard. https://www.standard.co.uk/news/tech/asos-national-cyber-security-centre-shares-snowflake-telegram-b1299768.html

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

Evening Standard · collected 2026-10-06 · by Henry Saker-Clark

Quick Summary

Asos, a fashion retailer with 16.5 million customers, reported “unauthorized activity” involving third-party platforms that may have led to the potential access of customer names and contact details. The company has taken steps to restrict access to these platforms and is investigating alongside specialists and authorities, while maintaining that payment card information and account passwords were not impacted. Asos assured its customers that its website and app are functioning normally without any disruptions.
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 2026-11-03, grounded in this article and the 15 other(s) covering the same event.

Story

📰 Asos Data Breach
Technology · 16 article(s) covering the same event. Compare every outlet's account →

Compared with similar articles

This article reads unscored and hedges 5% of its claims. Each row says how that neighbour differs.
Evening Standard
Hedges 1 of 4 claims Outlet record 64/100
Evening Standard
Hedges 3 of 22 claims Outlet record 64/100
The Straits Times
Hedges 3 of 23 claims Outlet record 66/100
BBC News
Hedges 6 of 31 claims Outlet record 68/100
Evening Standard
Hedges 0 of 14 claims Outlet record 64/100
Daily Mail
Hedges 3 of 50 claims Outlet record 69/100
Evening Standard
Hedges 1 of 11 claims Outlet record 64/100
Evening Standard
Hedges 0 of 7 claims Outlet record 64/100
The Guardian
Hedges 3 of 15 claims Outlet record 66/100
Evening Standard
Hedges 3 of 15 claims Outlet record 64/100
How this article was measured signals, leaning charts, publisher record, byline, topics and claims

Signals How these are calculated →

Claims extracted
19
sentences that state something as happening or true
Uncertain
5%
1 of 19 hedged ("reportedly", "may", "according to")
Leaning
not political
takes no side on a contested political question
Publisher signals
64/100
Evening Standard's corrections and hedging, across everything collected from it. Not a measure of accuracy.
Outlets on this story
16
Technology
Same framing elsewhere
2
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

Evening Standard · 8234 article(s) · 73 correction(s) detected
Running correction rate · 73 correction(s)

Who wrote this

Henry Saker-Clark
96 article(s) here · 1 carrying a prediction
🔮 It comes as Poundland bosses prepare to meet Government ministers later this week amid concerns that the retailer will be broken up despite a solvent takeover move being tabled.
🔮 The company currently has around 80% of its jet fuel hedged at much lower prices than the market rate but will see this fade out following the end of the financial year.
🔮 The company currently has around 80% of its jet fuel hedged at much lower prices than the market rate but will see this fade out following the end of the financial year.
🔮 Marks & Spencer, Next and Primark’s parent firm are among a throng of retailers set to update investors next week, shedding light on UK consumer sentiment heading towards Christmas.
🔮 The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) said Meta’s commercial terms could allow it to access and use content from news publishers’ websites to develop and provide its own products and services.
🔮 Inflation to surge beyond forecasts as UK economy set for growth slowdown
🔮 The economy is now expected to slow next year as accelerating inflation puts pressure on households and businesses, according to new forecasts published alongside the autumn Budget.
🔮 Inflation to surge beyond forecasts as UK economy set for growth slowdown
🔮 UK growth forecast slashed to 1% for next year amid Iran war impact The economy is now expected to slow next year as accelerating inflation puts pressure on households and businesses, according to new forecasts published alongside the autumn Budget.
🔮 The performance was also significantly stronger than expected, with economists having forecast a rate of 51.7 for the month. Any score above 50.0 indicates activity is growing while any score below means it is contracting.
Also by Henry Saker-Clark
Nothing else under this byline is closely related to this article, so these are simply their most recent.
All 96 articles by Henry Saker-Clark →

Topics

Asos Harrods Marks & Spencer NordVPN Snowflake

Subjects

Asos ORG · 3× Snowflake ORG · 2× Harrods ORG · 1× Marijus Briedis PERSON · 1× Marks & Spencer ORG · 1× NCSC ORG · 1× NordVPN ORG · 1×

Narrative

Snowflake said it has “found no compromise” of its platform after launching an investigation following the notification message. “The investigation is ongoing and we will provide further updates as soon as more information becomes available,” a spokeswoman added.
framing: assertive · carried by 2 article(s) · first seen 2026-10-06
🔮 The fashion giant, which has 16.5 million customers, said personal informational, such as names and contact details, “may have been accessed” as a result.
2026-10-06 · Evening Standard
Asos says customer data may have been accessed after ‘unauthorised activity’ · assertive framing
2026-10-06 · Evening Standard
Asos apologises to customers after ‘unauthorised activity’ · assertive framing

Claims (19 extracted, 1 hedged)

Asos has said it is investigating “unauthorised activity” involving a third-party platform after customers were sent a phone alert saying the online retailer had been hacked. asserted
retailer → say → alert
The fashion giant, which has 16.5 million customers, said personal informational, such as names and contact details, “may have been accessed” as a result. uncertain
informational → have → result
However, the company said it does not “believe that payment card information or account passwords, were impacted”. asserted
information → say → ?
On Tuesday afternoon, the company confirmed that an “unauthorised customer notification” had been sent out through its mobile app. asserted
notification → confirm → app
In a statement, the company said: “We are investigating unauthorised activity involving third-party platforms that we use to communicate with customers. asserted
we → say → customers
“We took immediate action to restrict access to the notification platforms and are working with our internal and external specialist advisers, as well as all relevant authorities. asserted
We → take → advisers
“Our website and app are operating as normal, with no current disruption to any aspects of our operations. asserted
website → operate → operations
“Customer trust is incredibly important to us, and if the situation changes an update will be provided as appropriate.” asserted
update → change → us
The notification message sent out by cyber attackers refers to cloud firm Snowflake, which stores data for many major companies. asserted
which → send → companies
Snowflake said it has “found no compromise” of its platform after launching an investigation following the notification message. “The investigation is ongoing and we will provide further updates as soon as more information becomes available,” a spokeswoman added. asserted
spokeswoman → say → updates
Asos told shareholders it has cyber security insurance with a large provider and said it is “too early” to quantify any potential impact on its trading. asserted
it → tell → trading
The UK is the group’s largest market, representing 49% of all revenues in the first half of the latest financial year. asserted
UK → represent → year
The fast fashion firm is currently undergoing a major turnaround programme in a bid to halt declining sales and return to profit. asserted
firm → undergo → profit
It comes after raft of UK retailers were targeted by cyber attackers over the past two years, including Marks & Spencer and Harrods. asserted
raft → come → Marks
Marijus Briedis, chief technology officer at NordVPN, said: “This is an unusually brazen and threatening message. “ asserted
This → say → NordVPN
The attackers aren’t simply claiming to have breached Asos – they’re publicly telling the company to engage with them or they will leak what they say they have obtained. asserted
they → claim → what
“What customers should be particularly alert to now is what happens next. asserted
what → happen → What
High-profile cyber incidents create ideal conditions for phishing attacks.” asserted
incidents → create → attacks
The NCSC publishes guidance on its website for members of the public who are affected by data breaches. asserted
who → publish → breaches
💬Give feedback
🕘History 🎫Support