Salaries delayed, app wiped out: How ex-employee caused popular Indian grocery delivery app to crash

KiranaPro app hack

Popular grocery delivery startup KiranaPro has found itself in hot water after a serious data breach disrupted its services and left customers in the dark. What was initially believed to be a cyberattack turned out to be an inside job, according to the company’s founders.

In a statement to HT, CEO Deepak Ravindran revealed that the disruption wasn’t caused by hackers but by a former employee, Lava Kumar, who had access to the company’s systems. Ravindran clarified that Kumar wasn’t fired, but his role was “removed” during a team reshuffle led by KiranaPro’s new CTO. “It wasn’t a firing,” he insisted. “We’re coming closer to a settlement now. There’s no hate among the employees—it’s all peace.”

The data breach, which occurred last week, wiped crucial data from KiranaPro’s servers and impacted its customer-facing app. Initially, the company believed it had been hacked. But after an internal investigation, Ravindran confirmed that no external party was involved. Instead, Kumar, a longtime associate who had previously worked with Ravindran at another startup, allegedly deleted important server logs during a product test.

According to a report by The Morning Context, Kumar was upset about being let go and deleted company code as an act of retaliation.

As if that wasn’t enough, KiranaPro is also facing heat over delayed salaries. Multiple current and former employees told The CapTable that they haven’t been paid for months. “I haven't been paid for April and May,” one ex-employee said. Others claimed delays stretching up to four months.

Ravindran responded by saying the salary issues are temporary and blamed the delay on pending investor funding. He assured that all employees have received partial payments and will be paid in full soon.