Asos hack fears after thousands of shoppers sent sinister phone message

Asos shoppers have received a ‘threatening’ phone notification suggesting that the online shopping platform has been hacked .

The notification sent just before 10am reads: ‘Dear Asos DPO and IT, we have fully compromised the Snowflake instance.

‘Engage with us, or we will leak it.’

How many people received the notification and whether Asos’ computer systems were compromised is unclear.

But cybersecurity experts stressed to Metro that shoppers should not click the link that is included in the notification.

If clicked, it brings the user to a Telegram channel called Xuanye gateway that asks them to join a second broadcast channel, the Xuanye group.

In a post sent just before 11am, the group said: ‘Regarding ASOS, payment information is not affected. That is all for now.

Xuanye group say this is its ‘legitimate channel’ and to ‘please be wary of impersonation and deception’.

‘Enquiries’ must be directed to a Telegram account, which charges 10 Telegram stars – the messaging app’s currency – per message.

What is the Xuanye group?

Sophos , a security software company which monitors the dark web, told Metro that the Xuanye group is ‘new’.

The group has so far not been mentioned on dark web forums, referring to the layer of the web that uses tech to hide a user’s identity and location.

Aiden Sinnot, principal threat researcher at the Sophos Counter Threat Unit, told Metro that it’s ‘not unusual’ to see new hacking groups spring up.

‘Often they wait until they have what they see as a significant opportunity before they announce themselves so as to enter the ecosystem with “credibility”,’ Sinnot said.

Marijus Briedis, the chief technology officer at the software company NordVPN , told Metro that the notification is an ‘unusually brazen and threatening message’.

‘The attackers aren’t simply claiming to have breached ASOS,’ she said, ‘they’re publicly telling the company to engage with them or they will leak what they say they have obtained.’

The nature of the incident remains unclear but Briedis suggested that the group pried open ‘at least part’ of Asos’ computer systems.

‘DPO’ in the notification refers to a data protection officer, a company worker who safeguards customer information.

Snowflake, meanwhile, is a cloud platform companies rely on to organise huge amounts of data.

‘If that claim proves genuine, the critical question will be what information was held there and whether any of it was accessed or downloaded,’ said Briedis.

‘At this stage, however, customers shouldn’t assume their personal or payment information has been stolen – that hasn’t been established.’

Briedis urged shoppers who have received the notification not to click any links and only

Cyber crooks may exploit the apparent hack by sending out texts and emails claiming to be from Asos, called phishing attacks, asking users to reset their passwords or confirm payment details to steal their information.

Asos users should ensure their password is unique and, if it’s the same used on other apps or websites , change it.

The e-commerve giant’s price plummeted 11.45% after the notification pinged on people’s phones, losing nearly £70million in value.

Asos has been approached for . It has yet to post the notification on its social media accounts or its website.

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