KrebsOnSecurity in New ‘Most Wanted’ HBO Max Series
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Summary
A new documentary will focus on Finnish cybercriminal Julius Kivimäki, who was recently convicted of extortion and selling data he obtained through his attacks on an online psychotherapy practice.
When he was just 14, Kivimäki began to associate with criminals who targeted websites to obtain customers’ payment card data.
He also engaged in “swatting” activities, through which criminal organisations would call in fake hostage situations and bomb threats to homes in the hope of triggering a police response.
Kivimäki was also found to be responsible for a bomb threat against then-President of Sony Online Entertainment, John Smedley, which caused an American Airlines plane to be grounded.
In 2015, a Finnish court found him guilty of over 50,000 cybercrimes but due to his age, he received a two-year suspended sentence and a small fine.
After Kivimäki threatened to publish patient records from the Vastaamo Psychotherapy Centre if they didn’t pay him, he was sentenced to over six years in prison in 2024.