Fired KiranaPro Staff Deleted Entire Code & Data: A Cautionary Tale of Poor Employee Offboarding
The world of startups is often fraught with risks, and one of the most significant is the threat posed by former employees. A recent incident at KiranaPro, a Bengaluru-based startup, has highlighted the importance of proper employee offboarding procedures. In a shocking turn of events, a former KiranaPro staff member deleted the entire code and data of the company, leaving the founders and employees in a state of chaos.
According to KiranaPro’s CEO, Deepak Ravindran, the deleted data included the company’s code, customer data, and even employee salaries. The incident has raised several questions about the company’s employee offboarding process and the lack of a full-time HR department.
In an interview with TechCrunch, KiranaPro’s CTO, Saurav Kumar, explained that the employee off-boarding process was not being handled properly due to the absence of a full-time HR department. This allowed the former employee to retain access to KiranaPro’s credentials, which he used to delete the company’s data.
The incident began on a Monday morning when KiranaPro’s founders arrived at the office to find that their code and data were missing. Initially, they suspected a hack or a technical issue, but further investigation revealed the shocking truth – a former employee had deleted the data using his credentials.
Ravindran shared a GitHub email on social media, which confirmed that the former employee’s credentials were used to delete the data. The email read, “We have deleted all the code and data from the repository.” The company has since been working to recover the deleted data, but the process is proving to be a challenge.
The incident has left KiranaPro’s employees and founders in a state of uncertainty. Salaries have been delayed, and the company is struggling to recover from the loss of data. The incident has also raised questions about the company’s security measures and the lack of a robust employee offboarding process.
The Importance of Employee Offboarding
Employee offboarding is a critical process that many startups often overlook. It involves the formal termination of an employee’s employment, including the return of company property, access to systems and data, and the deletion of employee accounts. In the case of KiranaPro, the lack of a full-time HR department meant that the employee offboarding process was not being handled properly.
The consequences of poor employee offboarding can be severe. In addition to the loss of data, it can also lead to security breaches, intellectual property theft, and damage to the company’s reputation. It is essential for startups to prioritize employee offboarding and ensure that former employees do not retain access to company data and systems.
Best Practices for Employee Offboarding
So, what can startups do to prevent such incidents? Here are some best practices for employee offboarding:
- Develop a comprehensive employee offboarding process: Create a formal process for terminating employees, including the return of company property, access to systems and data, and the deletion of employee accounts.
- Assign an HR team member to manage employee offboarding: Ensure that a dedicated HR team member is responsible for managing the employee offboarding process to prevent errors and ensure a smooth transition.
- Change passwords and delete access: When an employee leaves the company, change their passwords and delete their access to company systems and data to prevent unauthorized access.
- Conduct a thorough exit interview: Conduct a thorough exit interview with the departing employee to understand their reasons for leaving and gather feedback to improve the company’s processes.
- Monitor for suspicious activity: Monitor for suspicious activity after an employee leaves the company to prevent data breaches and security incidents.
Conclusion
The recent incident at KiranaPro is a stark reminder of the importance of proper employee offboarding procedures. The lack of a full-time HR department and poor employee offboarding process allowed a former employee to delete the company’s entire code and data. Startups must prioritize employee offboarding and ensure that former employees do not retain access to company data and systems.
By implementing comprehensive employee offboarding processes and assigning an HR team member to manage the process, startups can reduce the risk of data breaches and security incidents. Additionally, conducting thorough exit interviews and monitoring for suspicious activity can help prevent such incidents from occurring in the future.
