UK online retailer ASOS shares drop on reports of cybersecurity breach

ASOS app users in the UK have been receiving pop-up notifications from hackers, in what appears to be an apparent breach of the company's security. Multiple individuals have contacted the BBC about encountering a peculiar message on their phone screens, seemingly originating from the ASOS app. The message reads, "Dear ASOS DPO and IT, we have fully compromised the Snowflake instance.

Engage with us, or we will leak it." ASOS has not yet commented on the matter. Social media users have also reported receiving the message, expressing confusion about its meaning. Despite the extortion-like message being sent directly to customers, it is addressed to Asos's data protection officer (DPO) and IT team. The hackers claim to have "fully compromised the Snowflake instance," referring to the data storage company Snowflake.

While it is unclear whether ASOS is a customer of Snowflake or what data, if any, is stored with the service, Snowflake has been involved in numerous high-profile data breaches in recent years, including incidents targeting Ticketmaster and Santander.