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.