• KiranaPro suffers massive cyberattack that wipes out servers, app code, and user data, halting operations across 50 cities.
• Hackers gained root access to AWS and GitHub, possibly via a former employee’s account; MFA compromised.
• Company was prepping for a 100-city rollout before the breach; legal action and forensic investigation are now underway.

In a serious cybersecurity incident, ONDC-integrated fast commerce platform KiranaPro was hit by a crippling cyberattack that erased its cloud servers, removed vital app code, and compromised sensitive customer information. The attack has suspended operations, leaving the app online but unable to process orders.

The attack took place between May 24 and 25, on the startup's AWS and GitHub accounts, as per CEO Deepak Ravindran. The attackers allegedly had root-level access, wiped out all EC2 virtual machines, and accessed user information such as names, addresses, and payment information. The attack was detected by KiranaPro's team on May 26.

CTO Saurav Kumar announced that attempts to log in using Identity and Access Management (IAM) accounts authenticated the destruction of infrastructure, but the team was denied access to logs because root credentials were lost. Even their Google Authenticator-based MFA was compromised.

Screenshots analyzed by TechCrunch indicate that the breach could have started from a former employee's compromised GitHub account. GitHub has been approached by the company for assistance in tracking the attacker's IP address and the company is suing former employees who concealed credentials.

Established in December 2024, KiranaPro had quickly grown to operate in 50 cities with 55,000 users and 2,000 orders a day. The firm was on the cusp of growing into 100 cities within 100 days when the attack took place. The firm's platform enables users to order groceries using voice-based AI across several Indian languages such as Hindi, Tamil, Malayalam, and English.

This punch follows just weeks after KiranaPro's acquisition of AR startup Likeo in an all-stock arrangement worth $1 million. The startup has support from prominent investors such as Blume Ventures, TurboStart, Unpopular Ventures, Snow Leopard Ventures, and individuals such as Olympian P.V. Sindhu and Vikas Taneja of BCG.

Recently, CEO Deepak Ravindran articulated KiranaPro's vision in The Indian Dream Magazine, saying, "Everyone thinks kiranas are old-fashioned. But what if they're the future?" He outlined creating a national delivery network using India's 13 million kirana stores, fueled by open commerce infrastructure and voice AI.

As the group currently struggles to restore lost infrastructure and gain legal redress, the attack highlights increased cyber threats in India's rapidly changing digital retail environment.