Aleksanteri Kivimäki, a 26-year-old man, is suspected to be behind a major data breach against a healthcare company in Finland. He is now facing charges for thousands of crimes. According to news agency AFP, the prosecutor is seeking a seven-year prison sentence.
In the autumn of 2018, the healthcare company Vastaamo suffered a data breach, where an unauthorized individual gained access to thousands of patient records from psychotherapy sessions. The hacker behind the attack on Vastaamo is believed to be Aleksanteri Kivimäki, 26.
Aleksanteri Kivimäki, 26, is suspected of extensive data breaches. He was indicted today, on charges of aggravated data breaches, attempted aggravated extortion, 9,598 counts of gross dissemination of privacy-violating information, 21,316 counts of attempted aggravated extortion, as well as 20 counts of aggravated extortion. There are a total of 21,459 victims, according to the newspaper Iltalehti.
Bitcoin for 360,000 euros
Today, the Finnish prosecutor’s office held a press conference, revealing details about the case. After the hacker attack, it is suspected that Kivimäki tried to extort money from Vastaamo. He allegedly demanded 360,000 euros in bitcoin to not further distribute the sensitive information. However, the company refused to pay.
In response, Kivimäki started leaking the information to put pressure on Vastaamo.
Arrested in Paris
According to the prosecutor, he also contacted patients whose records he had access to. According to the indictment, he sent letters and demanded between 300 and 500 euros to not leak their records. Following a European arrest warrant, Kivimäki was apprehended in Paris on February 3rd of this year.
He has previously been convicted of various types of IT-related crimes, according to news agency AFP.
In hacker circles, he is known under the name Zeekill.
The trial is scheduled to start on November 13th and run until February next year. The prosecutor is seeking a seven-year prison sentence.
