Klarna app ‘bug’ let users log in to other shoppers’ accounts
BUY now, pay later app Klarna is back up and running after technical issues that saw users able to access other shoppers' accounts.
Customers were left unable to access their accounts with the finance app which lets shoppers pay later for items bought online.
The outage followed users reporting they could log into other shopper's accounts.
The technical issue appeared earlier on Thursday (May 27) and the outage lasted several hours.
Users could log in again by the early evening.
Klarna boss Sebastian Siemiatkowski apologised to customers and said in a blog post that the bug "led to random user data being exposed to the wrong user when accessing our user interfaces".
The data exposed was "non-sensitive"; under GDPR classification, according to the company.
He said: "It is important to note that the access to data has been entirely random and not showing any data containing card or bank details (obfuscated data was visible)."
The data of around 90,000 customers was exposed for 31 minutes in what it described as a "self-inflicted incident" down to human error.
It was not an external breach of data.
Mr Siemiatkowski said: "At 11:04 am CET this morning we discovered that an update introduced 15 min earlier had led to an error affecting our app users.
"Our payment services, the Klarna Card, the merchant checkouts and the merchant’s user interfaces, were completely unaffected by this. At 11.20.42 CET the error was deemed to be contained and fixed."
Users earlier reported that they were able to access other shoppers' accounts when trying to log in, sparking fears over security.
In one tweet to Klarna a user shared a video in which they appear to login several times to accounts with different names.
The user said: "Klarna has a major security issue on their hands this morning!!!! Every sign in is a different persons details."
Another user said: "Each time I tried to log in to my Klarna account this morning, I'm on someone else's account?
"Does this also mean someone else might currently be on my account? What the hell is going on?!!"
Shoppers logging into Klarna accounts were met with a message that said the app was currently down for maintenance and to try again "in a few hours".
A spokesperson for the Information Commissioners Office (ICO) said: “We are aware of an incident in relation to Klarna.
"Anyone who has concerns about their personal data should raise them with the company, if they are still not satisfied they can bring their concerns to the ICO.”
A Klarna spokesperson said during the outage: "We are currently experiencing system disturbances caused by a technical error.
"We apologise for any inconvenience this is causing. Whilst we are addressing the issue, customers are unable to log into the app."
A message on its website said the same.
Shoppers use the Klarna app to manage their account, including seeing what they owe and making payments to pay off earlier online purchases.
Users log into their account when payments are due, which is usually between 14 and 30 days are they bought the item.
The app sends alerts when these payments are due if a user has notifications set up.
Shoppers can also see all their outstanding payments in one place on the app.
Klarna is an option when buying online from many top retailers including ASOS and H&M.
Klarna has 90 million users in 17 countries and it can be used to pay with more than 250,000 shops.
Purchases using the Klarna app were unaffected by the outage.
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