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ASOS app users receive push notifications apparently sent by hackers

Image source, Getty ImagesByJoe TidyCyber correspondent, World ServicePublished6 October 2026, 10:49 BSTUpdated 1 hour agoAsos users across the UK have been sent pop-up messages from its app that appear to have been sent by hackers trying to extort the company. Dozens of people have told the BBC about receiving a strange message from the clothing and beauty store's app, appearing on their phone screens. "Dear ASOS DPO and IT, we have fully compromised the Snowflake instance. Engage with us, or we will leak it," the message reads. "If confirmed, this is a deeply serious attack because the hackers appear to have done something particularly brazen: turned ASOS's own app into their ransom note," says Charlotte Wilson, head of enterprise at cyber-security firm Check Point. "Millions of people trust notifications from apps on their phones because they are supposed to come directly from the company." On social media, dozens of people have posted about receiving the message - confused as to what it means. Although the apparent extortion message has been issued directly to customers, it is addressed to Asos' data protection officer (DPO) and IT team. The message claims the unnamed hackers have "fully compromised the Snowflake instance". This refers to the data storage company Snowflake, whose tools are used by dozens of firms for collecting, analysing and storing data. It is not known if ASOS is a customer of Snowflake or what data, if any, is stored with the service. But Snowflake has been the subject of many high profile data breaches in recent years and has been linked to incidents targeting services including Ticketmaster and Santander. It is, however, very unusual for a data breach to be revealed quite so publicly - and for customers to be informed in this manner.

ASOS app users receive push notifications apparently sent by hackers
Europe
BBC Business

Lego fraudster among last year's most high-profile insurance scammers

Image source, Getty ImagesByMitchell LabiakBusiness reporterPublished4 hours agoA scammer jailed for making false home insurance claims about supposedly stolen Lego has been listed as one of last year's most high-profile insurance fraudsters. The person was sentenced to 28 months in prison after an investigation found the claims were made up, insurance trade body the ABI said. Other insurance fraud cases flagged by the ABI include someone who staged car crashes with people they met online and a complex travel insurance scam involving multiple fake identities and documents. The average value of a fraudulent claim reached £14,300 last year, the second-highest level on record, the ABI said. There was £1.34bn worth of fraudulent claims in 2025, a 14% increase on the £1.18bn detected the previous year. At the same time, the number of detected fraudulent claims fell slightly to 93,900, down 2.7% on 2024. Mark Allen, head of fraud and financial crime at the ABI, said: "Although the rate of detected insurance fraud fell slightly last year, our data shows that fraudsters are targeting much bigger payouts. "As emerging technologies such as AI become more widely available, fraudsters will continue to look for new ways to exploit them." Det Ch Insp Simon Klust, head of the Insurance Fraud Enforcement Department (IFED) at the City of London Police, said: "Insurance fraud is not a victimless crime and those who commit it increase the cost of premiums for honest customers." He added that the 250 cases a day detected by the ABI last year were "unfortunately likely to be just the tip of the iceberg". One of the most notable fraudsters identified by the ABI last year was a man found by IFED to have fabricated reports of stolen high-value Lego sets, external. The man's scam claims to Axa Insurance during 2021 and 2022 also included other high-value items such as MacBooks, televisions, gaming consoles and fishing equipment, IFED said.

Lego fraudster among last year's most high-profile insurance scammers
Europe
BBC Business

OpenAI admits response to Australian government hacks 'not good enough'

OpenAI has admitted its actions were "not good enough" after one of its rogue agents breached Australian government websites in June, saying it had added more precautions to its training environments. The company's chief strategy officer Jason Kwon faced a parliamentary hearing into AI on Tuesday in Sydney, saying the breach "should not have happened" and it "should have handled our response better". It took weeks before Australia was notified via an email to a generic inbox. "We are sorry and we know we have work to do to rebuild trust with the Australian people," Kwon said. Anthropic also appeared and said it had not found any cases of Australian breaches during a recent investigation. An OpenAI agent went "rogue" and "infiltrated" a private statistics portal containing "non-sensitive" data from Australia's universal healthcare scheme Medicare in June, in what cyber-security experts said was the first hack of its kind. When asked why OpenAI had not directly contacted government ministers immediately after it found out about the breaches, Kwon acknowledged it was a mistake. "The reason why it happened the way that it did is I think people were thinking about this as a technical situation and they wanted to contact the technical counterparties, but it's not good enough." "Even if we don't fully understand the situation, we are just going to notify and start working through the situation collaboratively with the impacted party." OpenAI has also added "more precautions" to its training environments since the incidents, Kwon told the 12-member committee, which is made up of Labor, Liberal and independent MPs and senators looking at AI and its impact on Australia. The company was also establishing a local taskforce in Australia to investigate "how to better manage the risks associated with increasingly capable AI", it said. Kwon told the committee that training models were now monitored in real time during tests, and that an alarm was triggered if they interacted with the internet in a way they were not meant to. This meant that OpenAI had been able to alert the New South Wales government to another hack last week within 48 hours.

OpenAI admits response to Australian government hacks 'not good enough'
North America
CNBC Finance

FAA says Boeing 737 Max software glitch not a flight-safety issue

The Federal Aviation Administration said Friday that it has determined a new software glitch on some Boeing 737 Max aircraft isn't a flight-safety issue. The determination paves the way to certification for the last model in the company's best-selling family of airplanes, the 737 Max 10, just as Boeing seeking to sell and deliver more aircraft after years of safety and manufacturing crises. Boeing flagged the software issue, which could affect certain landing procedures, last month and the FAA on Monday said it was reviewing to determine if it poses a safety of flight issue. "Following a thorough review, a panel of FAA safety experts on Friday determined a software issue in certain Boeing 737 MAX flight computers is not a safety concern," the FAA said. "The FAA's Corrective Action Review Board made that determination because pilots retain full control of the aircraft and the indications to the flight crew are clear and unambiguous." Boeing said the issue could arise after a missed approach when pilots alter a preprogrammed flight path, and that pilots must take additional steps to use automated tools on subsequent approaches. The FAA said on Friday that it will issue a special bulletin to airlines on how to recognize and respond to the issue if it arises. The agency convened a review board on Friday to assess the issue. Participants included FAA experts on airframes, flight controls, propulsion, flight testing and others. "As with any situation, the FAA will consider appropriate action if it receives new information about this issue," the agency said. U.S. airlines said they're not affected by the issue since they could revert to older versions of the software, but the problem raised questions about certification of the Boeing 737 Max 10, which Boeing and airlines expected to come in early fall. The Max 10 is the largest in the family of airplanes and would be the last of the Max lineup to win government certification to fly. The FAA approved the Max 7, the smallest in the Max family, in August. Chief executives of 737 Max 10 customers, Alaska Airlines and Ryanair, earlier this week brushed off concerns about the aircraft's certification delays. Get this delivered to your inbox, and more info about our products and services.

FAA says Boeing 737 Max software glitch not a flight-safety issue
Europe
BBC Business

Pentagon stops using Anthropic AI tools after blacklisting company, BBC told

The US Department of Defence is no longer using Anthropic's AI tools, an official has told the BBC, months after it designated the company a supply chain risk on national security grounds. The Pentagon "has ceased the use of Anthropic products", the department official said in a statement on Monday. Secretary of Defence Pete Hegseth labelled Anthropic a supply chain risk in February, and announced that the Pentagon would stop using it by late August. It is not clear why there has been a delay. Multiple people familiar with the matter told the BBC that as recently as last week Anthopic's Claude model was still being used by the department in research, analysis and intelligence gathering as well as in military operations against Iran. It was viewed as a critical tool for sorting through vast quantities of information, the people said. They include former US defence officials and contractors who have worked closely with the Pentagon specifically on AI. A spokesman for Anthropic declined to comment when asked about the Pentagon's statement. The details of the department stopping all use of Anthropic's tools have not been previously reported. The firm had been used by the US government and military since 2024 and was the first advanced AI company to have its tools deployed in government agencies doing classified work. But earlier this year, the Pentagon pressed it to remove its safety guardrails from Claude and give the military unfettered access to its AI products. When Anthropic refused, citing concerns of mass surveillance and autonomous weapons, Hegseth designated the company a "national security supply-chain risk" - a law typically reserved for companies based in countries that pose a threat to the US. Anthropic said the move was "unprecedented and unlawful" and has sued the Trump administration in an effort to overturn the designation. As this legal fight has played out in the courts, the Pentagon has signed contracts with other major tech companies, including Google, xAI and OpenAI.

Pentagon stops using Anthropic AI tools after blacklisting company, BBC told
Europe
BBC Business

Last call for the mall? How shopping centres are reinventing themselves

The Brunel Centre was once a thriving retail destination, attracting shoppers from far and wide. "It was incredible," says town councillor Keith Ely, who remembers its opening in Bletchley, Buckinghamshire, in 1973. Back then, centre:MK, a large destination shopping centre four miles away in Milton Keynes, did not exist, and the Brunel was quite the draw. Vacant units and graffiti-daubed shutters dominate, and it has just one store left. That remaining shop, a Boots Opticians, is set to close later this month ahead of the centre's planned demolition next year. But Ely, 87, is not upset to see the Brunel make way for flats and a health centre, with only some retail space. In the Grafton Centre, Cambridge, it is a similar story, with shuttered units, a large empty former Debenhams department store and a permanently closed cinema. There are long-term plans for a redevelopment to include retail but also a life science centre. This may work in Cambridge, a global leader in life sciences, but it is not an option in much of the country. So, in the age of online shopping, what lies ahead for these medium-sized malls? "There are too many in the UK and many don't have a future," is the stark assessment of Subjit Jassy, a director at Pioneer Group, which owns the centre. "The old model of retailers expanding to improve turnover has now disappeared because of the internet."

Last call for the mall? How shopping centres are reinventing themselves
North America
CNBC Finance

Why Lilly and Novo are betting on amylin to power a new wave of obesity drugs after GLP-1s

The next generation of blockbuster obesity drugs isn't trying to replace GLP-1 medicines. Instead, drugmakers are developing treatments that can complement existing drugs and push weight loss further, or offer new options for potentially millions of people who may not get enough benefit from GLP-1s. That's the early potential of a new slate of injections, pills, and combination regimens targeting the amylin pathway, which involves a hormone released in the pancreas alongside insulin that helps regulate hunger and fullness. Amylin gives Eli Lilly, Novo and several other companies another biological lever to pull in treating obesity and Type 2 diabetes, either as an independent treatment or layered on top of existing drugs. The company's experimental amylin-targeting drug, eloralintide, helped produce substantially more weight loss when combined with tirzepatide – the active ingredient in its blockbuster Zepbound and Mounjaro shots – in a Phase 2 trial on patients with obesity and Type 2 diabetes. At 48 weeks, people receiving the highest-dose combination lost an average of 23.3% of their body weight, compared with 14.8% among those only taking a high dose of tirzepatide. Those figures are based on efficacy analysis that assumes patients remained on treatment in the trial. "These are encouraging results," said Benjamin Bikman, a professor at Brigham Young University and leading expert on metabolic health and insulin resistance. "Adults with type 2 diabetes typically lose less weight on these therapies than those without diabetes." Lilly is developing eloralintide both as a standalone treatment and as part of that combo therapy. The two components make up what some analysts view as a major future franchise for the company. Leerink Partners analyst David Risinger forecasts $23.2 billion in annual sales for Lilly's eloralintide products by the end of 2035. He said he expects the standalone drug to launch first in 2029, followed by the combo in 2030. "There are millions of individuals, potentially over 10 million people, who have tried GLP-1s and failed due to efficacy reasons, tolerability issues, or genetic issues where they simply do not respond to one," Risinger told CNBC. "We think this novel mechanism, this amylin analog … will offer a major new treatment alternative for patients, both as a monotherapy and as a combination therapy. " Risinger said he sees greater potential for standalone eloralintide given the "huge independent patient pool" that hasn't seen success on existing GLP-1s. Lilly still sees a clear opportunity for pairing the medications. "Patients may not get what they need from a drug like tirzepatide," Ken Custer, president of Lilly Cardiometabolic Health, said in an interview. "They may not get what they need from a drug like a eloralintide on its own." Bikman also said he sees the combo as an opportunity for patients who started on tirzepatide alone but saw their weight loss plateau.

Why Lilly and Novo are betting on amylin to power a new wave of obesity drugs after GLP-1s
Europe
BBC Business

Wood Group offshore workers launch 48-hour strike in row over pay

Offshore workers on a number of North Sea platforms are taking strike action in a dispute over pay and conditions. The Unite and RMT unions said they are in dispute with the Wood Group over its decision to "slash" the pay and conditions of dozens of offshore workers, including through the threat of issuing fire-and-rehire notices. The strikes will affect a number of installations run by Harbour Energy, including the Britannia, Jasmine, Judy, Lomond and North Everest platforms. The Wood Group said it had been notified of the action and added that staff and operational safety remained its "top priority". Production, instrument and mechanical technicians are among those set to walk out for a total of six days in October and November, beginning with a two-day walk-out which started at midnight. The RMT has also instructed its members not to work any overtime from 8 October until further notice. The news comes after a warning that separate strike action by offshore workers at energy firm Apache could "severely disrupt" UK fuel supplies. Unite general secretary Sharon Graham said: "Unite will not allow the Wood Group to slash and burn our members' pay and conditions. "This is a profitable company and it is despicable that it is threatening to fire and rehire its workers. This is corporate greed in its worst form." Vic Fraser, Unite industrial officer, said: "Industrial action will inevitably impact the operation of Harbour Energy's offshore assets. "The workforce has been left with no option but to strike against the Wood Group's threats and intimidation. RMT general secretary Eddie Dempsey said: "Our members are not asking for special treatment or unreasonable improvements.

Wood Group offshore workers launch 48-hour strike in row over pay
North America
CNBC Finance

Ford fends off Hyundai to retain No. 3 U.S. sales position in third quarter

DETROIT — Ford Motor retained its No. 3 U.S. sales position during the third quarter by a narrow margin over Hyundai Motor, which had been forecast to overtake the Detroit automaker. Ford on Friday reported a year-over-year sales decline of 6.6% during the third quarter to 507,395 light-duty vehicles. That figure excludes its largest heavy-duty trucks, which are classified differently. That compares to the South Korean automaker, including Hyundai, Kia and Genesis brands, reporting a 5.4% increase to 506,200 vehicles during the quarter. Both companies performed better than expected. A forecast last week by Cox Automotive had called for Hyundai to overtake Ford in quarterly sales for the first time. Hyundai has been making major inroads in the U.S. this year. Ford, meanwhile, has struggled with production of its crucial F-Series pickup trucks after two supplier fires last year that disrupted production and sales. Ford retains a roughly 89,700-unit sales lead for the year over Hyundai through the third quarter, according to data reported this week by the companies. The current U.S. sales leader for 2026 is General Motors, followed by Toyota Motor. However, the Japanese automakers has been making gains against GM this year. Ford on Friday downplayed Hyundai's proximity in sales, citing Kia and Hyundai brands operating separately in the U.S. despite having a corporate parent. In addition to the F-Series production problems, Ford's year-over-year sales comparisons have been tough due to the discontinuation of vehicles such as the Ford Escape. Rob Kaffl, Ford's head of U.S. sales, said Friday that sales and inventories of F-Series pickups, including its F-150, continued to improve during the quarter. "Some of the headwinds we had early in the year are kind of behind us, and it's really setting us up for a really strong Q4 as we move in," Kaffl said during a media call. F-Series sales were only off 1.9% during the third quarter, including a 97.1% decline of the discontinued F-150 Lightning electric pickup truck.

Ford fends off Hyundai to retain No. 3 U.S. sales position in third quarter