French authorities have extradited a Finnish hacker, Aleksanteri Tomminpoika Kivimaki, back to his home country, where he is accused of being involved in a cyberheist that exposed tens of thousands of psychotherapy records.
According to a statement by the police, they are now requesting a local court to place the suspect on remand. Kivimaki was arrested by French authorities at the beginning of February before being extradited to Finland on February 24th.
The cyberattack that exposed the patient records of thousands of Finns who had sought therapy at Psykoterapiakeskus Vastaamo Oy took place in late 2020, after the hacker held the information to ransom. The police have described the case as exceptionally broad. The crimes brought against Kivimaki include aggravated extortion, aggravated computer break-in, and aggravated dissemination of information violating personal privacy.
The Vastaamo data breach is considered one of the worst in Finland’s history, with over 40,000 patients affected. Many patients received emails demanding ransoms to prevent their sensitive data from being leaked publicly.
Some victims reported receiving threats and being blackmailed by the hacker. Finnish authorities have been criticized for their handling of the case, with many calling for greater accountability and transparency.
