Article ID: 6a8596ff1d317277b8e463c8b0be76c89909c7149d82b290b71bf104270a51b4
Source ID: primary:insurancejournal.com
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Extraction Method: trafilatura
URL: https://www.insurancejournal.com/news/international/2026/10/06/888095.htm
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ASOS Plc confirmed it is investigating a suspected cyberattack after users of its shopping app received a notification threatening to leak data. The British online apparel retailer said personal data including names and contact details may have been accessed in the attack, which occurred at about 10 a.m. on Tuesday. The incident involved a breach of third-party communication platforms used by the company, Asos said several hours later, adding it did not believe payment cards or passwords were accessed. Shares of ASOS fell as much as 15% in London, the most intraday since May 2023, before slightly paring the drop. ASOS had 16.4 million active customers in more than 100 markets as of the end of its 2026 fiscal year. Hackers calling themselves the “Xuanye group” took responsibility for the breach in messages on the Telegram social media platform. They said payment information was not affected, but claimed they had accessed customer data. The hackers sent out a push notification to ASOS customers via the company’s mobile app stating that they had compromised Asos’s Snowflake system, a cloud-based platform used to store large repositories of data. They did not provide any evidence to support their claims and Bloomberg could not independently verify that they had accessed customer data. A spokesperson for Snowflake Inc. said it found no compromise of its platform. “We take customer privacy and security very seriously,” they said in an emailed statement. “The investigation is ongoing and we will provide further updates as soon as more information becomes available.” Shares of Snowflake were little changed, after an earlier drop in premarket trading in New York. More Risk Hacking is proliferating, aided by artificial intelligence tools and sophisticated cybercrime groups, such as ShinyHunters, that target large organizations to steal data. A number of UK businesses have been affected recently including Marks & Spencer Group Plc, which endured months of disruption after an attack last year forced it to pause online clothing and home orders. ASOS said it’s too early to assess any impact on trading, and added it has cyber security insurance. Little is known about the Xuanye Group. It has not previously been associated with any cyberattacks or data breaches and appears to have newly created its Telegram channel to promote its claimed compromise of ASOS. Hijacking ASOS’s notification system is “a significant evolution in the extortion tactics of threat groups,” said Avi Dayan, vice president of incident response at the cybersecurity firm Sygnia Consulting. “Instead of negotiating behind closed doors, attackers are employing psychological warfare and leveraging the customer base to create direct, public pressure on management.” The notification, seen by Bloomberg and widely reported on social media, appeared to refer to the British online apparel retailer’s data protection officer. “Dear Asos DPO and IT, we have fully compromised the Snowflake instance,” the notification said, alongside a link to a Telegram chat. “Engage with us, or we will leak it.” Snowflake makes software that helps businesses organize and analyze their data in the cloud. Enterprises can use the platform to run analytics on data, generate quick reports with information that spans different business units, or gather intelligence on what customers. Clients include large enterprises such as OpenAI, the Walt Disney Co. and Novo Nordisk, according to its website. According to a UK government survey, about four in ten British businesses experienced a cybersecurity breach or attack in the last year and medium and large companies were more likely to be targeted. Jaguar Land Rover was hit by a major cyberattack last year that led to the automaker shutting down factories around the world. Photograph: ASOS branding; photo credit: Nathan Stirk/Getty Images Related: - UK Grocer Co-op Says Hackers Obtained Customer Data - Harrods Warns Customers of Data Theft in Latest IT Breach Topics Cyber Was this article valuable? Here are more articles you may enjoy.
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