Hackers hijack ASOS app, push extortion message to thousands; stock drops 13%
On Tuesday, hackers hijacked ASOS’s official app to send a push notification titled “ASOS HACKED” to thousands of customers, claiming they had compromised the retailer’s Snowflake environment and threatening to leak data. The incident caused ASOS’s share price to fall as much as 13% on the day of the attack.
The push notification was sent through ASOS’s official notification system and directed users to a Telegram channel linked to the Xuanye Group. ASOS told the BBC it is investigating the claims and said its website and app continued to operate normally. Snowflake, the cloud data platform referenced by the attackers, provides storage and analytics for large datasets. Cybersecurity experts note that sending push notifications usually requires access separate from a data environment, suggesting the breach may extend beyond Snowflake.
The incident is part of a broader series of cyberattacks affecting retailers worldwide. ASOS uses Snowflake to store and analyze large volumes of data.
What we know
On Tuesday, thousands of ASOS customers received a striking message from alleged hackers via the official app.
“Dear ASOS DPO and IT, we have completely compromised the Snowflake environment. Contact us, or we’ll leak it.”
What is particularly noteworthy is that the attackers appear to have used ASOS’s official notification channel.
The stock market reacted immediately, sending the stock down by as much as 13%.
ASOS confirmed to the BBC only that it is investigating the reports.