Asos hacked notification: What a snowflake instance is
The messages ASOS app users received mention a "Snowflake instance." Here's what that means.
On Tuesday, ASOS app users in the UK encountered an alarming pop-up message within the official ASOS app. According to Mashable, these messages appeared to be sent by hackers, claiming they had fully compromised a Snowflake instance and threatened to leak it. For many consumers, using an app that stores personal information can be unsettling, but the concept of a Snowflake instance might be unfamiliar to them.
So, why should ASOS customers be concerned? What is Snowflake? Snowflake is a company that provides a cloud-based data platform, enabling businesses to store large amounts of data and run analyses on it. Unlike traditional data storage, Snowflake combines data storage, processing, and analytics into a single service, managing hardware, software, and maintenance.
Customers don't install it on their servers; instead, it runs on major public clouds like Amazon Web Services, Microsoft Azure, and Google Cloud. What is an instance? In cloud hosting, an instance typically refers to a single running copy of a service. In this context, an instance is one company's private section of Snowflake's warehouse, containing its own data, users, and access controls.
When hackers claim to have compromised the Snowflake instance, they mean they have gained access to the environment where ASOS stores its data. In this particular incident, it appears that only ASOS has been affected, not the entire Snowflake customer base. Several details remain unconfirmed, including whether ASOS uses Snowflake or not, and whether payment card information or account passwords were compromised.
As of now, ASOS has not publicly commented on the breach, but it has apologized to customers who received unauthorized push notifications and advised them not to click on any links. The company is investigating the incident and working with internal and external specialists and relevant authorities. While the immediate risk appears contained, ASOS warns that if basic personal information, such as names and contact details, were accessed, scammers could use this information to send phishing emails or texts, posing a future risk for affected customers.
Written by urgent.news from Mashable's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
