At roughly 10am on Tuesday 6 October, some ASOS app users reported a push alert notification that left them “scared”.
The alert, which showed up with the title “ASOS HACKED” on some devices, read: “Dear ASOS DPO and IT, we have fully compromised the Snowflake instance. Engage with us, or we will leak it.”
Over five hours after these issues were shared on social media, the retailer has responded to concerns.
In an update, the company said: “ASOS can confirm that, at around 10am today, an unauthorised customer notification was sent to ASOS customers.
“We are investigating unauthorised activity involving third-party platforms that we use to communicate with 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.
“Basic personal information including name and contact details may have been accessed. We do not believe that payment-card information or account passwords, were impacted.”
The statement continues: “Our website and app are operating as normal, with no current disruption to any aspects of our operations.
“Customer trust is incredibly important to us, and if the situation changes an update will be provided as appropriate.
“The Company has cyber security insurance with a large global provider, including business continuity insurance. It is too early to quantify any potential impact on trading.”
Some reports suggest that ASOS’s stock had dropped by 11% as news of the suspected hack circulated on Tuesday morning morning.
Before the official statement was shared, Sky News reported that ASOS’ chatbot wrote that the company was “currently investigating” the notification.
Meanwhile, ASOS’ official Instagram story carried a separate message for customers, urging them not to “click or engage” with the link the notification contained.
It reads: “We’re sorry that you may have received an unauthorised push notification from ASOS earlier today. Please disregard the notification and do not click or engage with the link it contained.
“We’re investigating the unauthorised activity and have taken immediate action to restrict access. We’re also working with our internal and external specialist advisers, as well as all relevant authorities.
“Based on what we know at this stage, basic personal information including name and contact details may have been accessed. However, we do not believe that any payment-card information or account passwords have been impacted.
“Protecting our customers and maintaining a reliable shopping experience are our priorities. While our investigation continues, please be assured that our website and app are operating as usual.
“Thank you for your patience, we appreciate you and will provide further updates as soon as we have more information.”
