KiranaPro blames ex-employee after massive data wipe, but will not rule out hack
Earlier this week, homegrown grocery-tech startup KiranaPro suffered what is being described as its most significant data loss to date. While the company initially suspected foul play by an external actor, a recent post by the CEO suggests a rather different narrative. Co-founder and CEO Deepak Ravindran took to X (formerly Twitter) to shed light on the incident, stating that following an internal investigation, the company believes a former employee may be responsible. According to him, an ex-employee, whose identity has not been disclosed, deliberately erased all company data. However, it's important to note that no concrete evidence has yet been presented to support this claim. India Today attempted to contact the company for clarification, but received no response.advertisementHe posted, "After careful investigation, we conclude that this was not a hack. No external party penetrated our ordering or payment systems, exploited vulnerabilities, or bypassed security protocols. Our external security posture remains intact, and there is no evidence of any unauthorized access from outside the organisation." "Instead, this was an internal data breach. Specifically, it was the result of actions taken by a trusted internal employee who had legitimate access to our systems. This individual intentionally deleted critical server logs while they were being tested and/or edited, an action that goes directly against our policies, our principles, and the trust we place in our team," he added.
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According to a TechCrunch report, the Bengaluru-based startup KiranaPro discovered last week that it had lost access to its back-end servers, and that critical data, including its app's source code, had been wiped from GitHub. On Friday, the company attributed the breach to a former employee. However, in a follow-up conversation with TechCrunch, KiranaPro's co-founder and CEO, Deepak Ravindran, admitted the company had failed to revoke the ex-employee's access after their departure, leaving open the possibility that their account may have been misused maliciously.
'To investigate thoroughly, we'll need a full forensic review,' Ravindran said, adding that the matter would be escalated to the board, investors, and legal counsel for a formal opinion on next steps.Building on the same, Ravindran also highlighted the same in his post. He said that while the team is working to get the app back up live, it has also initiated a full forensic report to determine the complete scope and impact of the data deletion. He added, as part of its corrective measures, KiranaPro has bolstered access controls, enhanced audit logging, and restructured its multi-factor authentication protocols. Additionally, the firm has introduced a one-to-one entry log for database access and reinforced internal policies through improved training on data governance and privileged access. Legal and disciplinary proceedings are also being pursued against the individual deemed responsible, in accordance with the seriousness of the breach.advertisementEven after posting this long and heavy post, the CEO says he cannot fully rule out the external hack option. TechCrunch reported that Ravindran has reservations about going full in to find the culprit. He said that to rule out the external hack option completely, the company has to run rigorous IP scans, which means a lot of resources will be consumed in the process. Hence, the company has decided not to delve deeper into it.While the company does not want to investigate the third-party hacking option, it is keen to call out the former employee. In the report, Ravindran claims that the company has enough evidence, like GitHub response, to file an official complaint. But, the next steps are yet to be revealed.Concluding the X post, CEO stated that KiranaPro app (launched in December 2024) will be back in just a few months, with much better security measures. The platform, a buyer-facing application integrated with the Indian government's Open Network for Digital Commerce (ONDC), currently serves around 55,000 customers, with 30,000 to 35,000 active buyers spread across 50 cities, placing approximately 2,000 orders each day. What sets KiranaPro apart from conventional grocery apps is its voice-enabled interface, which supports multiple languages including Hindi, Tamil, Malayalam, and English, allowing users to place orders using simple voice commands.
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