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2024-05-03 20:26:00
In an unprecedented case that has shaken Finland, Julius Kivimäki, a cybercriminal 26 years old, was convicted following trying to blackmail 33,000 people with confidential therapy notes which he extracted from the servers of Vastaamo, the largest psychotherapy company in this European nation.
Stone Hill, who was involved in activities related to hackers From the age of 13was found guilty of multiple crimes, including mass blackmailing of patients, following they refused to pay ransoms for the confidentiality of their personal stories.
Furthermore, it is important to highlight that this trial marks the largest criminal case in the history of Finland, given the magnitude of victims affected and as a result, left a sentence of six years and three months in prison for the person involved.
The blackmail began when Kivimäki demanded a ransom of approximately $427,000 from Vastaamo (400,000 euros). After the company refused to pay, he sent emails to thousands of patients, asking for $214 in exchange for not disclosing his personal information.
A mistake made by the cybercriminal who allowed the police to discover a server that contained valuable information to carry out his sentence. Which was also achieved thanks to unprecedented digital forensics and cryptocurrency monitoring.
The accused declared his innocence throughout the process, despite having fled to Paris and being captured with a false identity. In contrast, Kivimäki’s persistence in his criminal activity, even following a previous conviction in his teenage years, underscores the unusual and challenging nature of this case.
“What matters is that this criminal, ruthless and absolutely lacking in empathybe sentenced to prison,” said one of the victims, Tiina Parikka, evidencing the fundamentally negative human impact behind the crimes committed by this young man.
The investigation revealed that the Vastaamo databases They were vulnerable and accessible on the Internet without adequate protection measures, which also led to a conviction for the company’s boss, Ville Tapio, for failing to secure confidential customer information.
Tapio received a three-month suspended prison sentence last year, while the company was forced to close following the scandal.
Regarding the victims of this massive blackmail, they suffered a great impact, with at least one suicide directly linked to the case. “Many people were affected by this in many ways,” Parikka shared, highlighting the depth of suffering caused.
In addition to the direct psychological consequences, This event has had a domino effect.affecting the perception of digital security in the field of mental health.
The Vastaamo case does not end with Kivimäk’s conviction and it is very likely that now proceedings begin in civil courts in an attempt to obtain compensation for some of the victims of the attack, marking the next chapter in this long and painful saga.
Although it does conclude a wave of cybercrime started by Kivimäki since his adolescence, who was known in online circles as Zeekill and was a key member of multiple cybercriminal gangs. In fact, his criminal record spanned from 2009 to 2015, leaving a path of chaos and disorder.
And although he received a juvenile sentence at the age of 15, the truth is that the lack of a custodial sentence was seen by many experts as an insufficient response to deter their criminal behavior.
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