Bengaluru-based KiranaPro, a grocery delivery startup, has been dealing with a crisis this week. The company faced an internal data breach allegedly carried out by a trusted employee, resulting in significant data loss and disruptions to its customer-facing app. The situation worsened with reports emerging about delayed salary payments to employees, adding to the startup’s troubles.
KiranaPro initially attributed its recent data loss to a hack, claiming all its data had been deleted. However, CEO Deepak Ravindran later clarified on LinkedIn that the breach was actually carried out by a former employee, providing more insight into the incident that disrupted the company’s operations.
He wrote, “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… 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.”
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CEO Deepak Ravindran revealed that the data breach at KiranaPro was caused by a former employee named Lava Kumar, who “intentionally deleted critical server logs while they were being tested.” This action resulted in significant data loss and operational challenges for the company.
A report by The Morning Context indicated that Lava Kumar was reportedly upset about his termination and deleted company code in retaliation. When questioned about the motive behind Kumar’s actions, CEO Deepak Ravindran stated that they are “coming closer to a settlement,” without elaborating further on the details.
Ravindran described Lava Kumar’s background, saying, “Lava comes from a business background. He has worked with me in the past in Lookup,” adding that Kumar had expressed interest in working on the product side. Ravindran mentioned accommodating Kumar’s interest, stating, “He wanted to work on product so I said okay. We did not have much by way of product, so I said ‘Fine, you can explore’.”
“But then my new CTO Sourav joined the company and he is creating a new team. So we are reshuffling the team,” he added.
Ravindran clarified that Lava Kumar’s departure from the company was due to internal restructuring, downplaying the nature of his exit. “The firing was not a firing, actually. It was just a removal. It wasn’t a firing,” Ravindran said, emphasizing a distinction between the terms.
“After the termination, we did have arguments of business, but we have settled it now,” he said. Ravindran added that a settlement is being reached, stating, “We are coming closer to the settlement. There is no hate among the employees now, it’s all peace.”
On June 6, The CapTable reported that several current and former employees of KiranaPro have alleged that the company has not paid their dues, adding to the startup’s recent challenges and controversies.
Former employees of KiranaPro alleged that they had not received their salaries on time. One former employee claimed, “I haven’t been paid for April and May,” adding that Ravindran made promises about clearing payments on specific days but repeatedly extended the deadlines. Another employee corroborated the issue, stating that some colleagues had gone unpaid for the last four months.
Ravindran attributed the delay in salary payments to investor funds being in the process of being disbursed. He assured that all employees have already received a portion of their salaries and will get the remaining amount soon, aiming to alleviate concerns about the payment delays.
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