Vastaamo Hack: Finland's Largest Medical Data Breach

On October 24, 2020, thousands of people in Helsinki simultaneously received threatening letters from a hacker possessing confidential data. The criminal demanded a ransom in Bitcoin to refrain from distributing records of therapy sessions from the Vastaamo network of psychological assistance centers.

The cybercrime affected over 33,000 patients, including students, doctors, and politicians. The threat involved publishing personal confessions and medical histories of every individual who had visited the clinic.

Scale of the breach and public reaction

Finnish journalists called this incident the most high-profile cybercrime in the country's history. More than 24,000 victims filed police reports after receiving blackmail emails. The hacker gave the victims only 24 hours to make a decision.

Despite the ransom demands, the information was dumped into the darknet for public viewing. The young man, wanted by Interpol for several years, was caught due to his own carelessness and lack of caution during the attack.