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A fresh documentary series regarding cybercrime is set to premiere next month on HBO Max, including interviews with Yours Truly. The four-part series chronicles the actions of Julius Kivimäki, a well-known Finnish hacker who was recently found guilty of leaking thousands of patient records from an online psychotherapy center while trying to extort the clinic and its clientele.

The documentary, titled “Most Wanted: Teen Hacker,” delves into the 27-year-old Kivimäki’s extensive and increasingly harmful career, characterized by cyber attacks intended to produce tangible real-world consequences for their victims.

By the age of 14, Kivimäki had become involved with a clique of criminals who were mass-compromising websites and extracting customer payment card information. Kivimäki and his associates relished the thrill of tormenting others through “swatting” — fabricating hostage situations or bomb threats to a target’s residence in hopes of instigating a heavily-armed police intervention.

On December 26, 2014, Kivimäki and other members of an online group known as the Lizard Squad executed a substantial distributed denial-of-service (DDoS) assault on the Sony Playstation and Microsoft Xbox Live services, obstructing millions of users from utilizing their new gaming systems the day after Christmas. Later, the Lizard Squad revealed that the stunt aimed to draw attention to their new DDoS-for-hire service, which launched and began offering subscriptions soon after the incident.

Finnish authorities reported that Kivimäki was also implicated in a 2014 bomb threat against former Sony Online Entertainment President John Smedley, which diverted an American Airlines flight. This event was largely attributed to a tweet from the Lizard Squad, following Smedley’s online mention of travel plans. However, both Smedley and Finnish investigators indicated that the bomb threat originated from a phone call made by Kivimäki.

The slow gears of justice seemed to be catching up with Kivimäki in mid-2015, when a Finnish court convicted him of over 50,000 cyber offenses, including data breaches, payment fraud, and running a global botnet of compromised computers. Regrettably, the defendant was only 17 at the time and received little more than a light reprimand: a two-year suspended sentence and a minor fine.

Kivimäki quickly boasted online about the lenient verdict, declaring on Twitter that he was an “untouchable hacker god.” I published a column in 2015 expressing dismay at his trivial punishment, as it was evident even then that this was an individual who delighted in the suffering of others, showing a complete lack of remorse for his actions. It was clear to all investigators that he was not going to cease unless forced to do so.

In reaction to some of my initial reports mentioning Kivimäki, one reader shared that they had endured relentless harassment and abuse from him for years, which included swatting, unsolicited deliveries and subscriptions, unwanted emails to her friends and colleagues, as well as menacing phone calls and texts throughout the night. The reader, who wished to remain anonymous, revealed that Kivimäki once admitted he harassed her without any reason — that she was selected at random and that it was merely for amusement.

Five years post Kivimäki’s conviction, the Vastaamo Psychotherapy Center in Finland became the target of blackmail when an individual identified as “ransom_man” demanded payment of 40 bitcoins (around 450,000 euros at the time) in exchange for a promise not to disclose highly sensitive therapy session notes that Vastaamo had leaked online.

Ransom_man, also known as Kivimäki, declared on the dark web that he would commence the release of 100 patient profiles every 24 hours. When Vastaamo refused to pay, ransom_man shifted his focus to extorting individual patients. Finnish police reported that approximately 22,000 victims experienced extortion attempts directed at them personally, receiving emails threatening the publication of their therapy notes unless a 500 euro ransom was paid.

In October 2022, Finnish officials charged Kivimäki with extorting Vastaamo and its clients. However, by then, he was fleeing from law enforcement and indulging himself across Europe, spending extravagantly on luxury cars, apartments, and a hedonistic lifestyle.

In February 2023, Kivimäki was captured in France when authorities responded to a domestic disturbance call and discovered him recovering from a hangover on the couch of a woman he had met the previous evening. French police became suspicious when the tall blonde, green-eyed man presented identification claiming Romanian nationality.

In April 2024, Kivimäki was sentenced to over six years in prison after being convicted of extorting Vastaamo and its patients.

The documentary is helmed by the award-winning Finnish producer and director Sami Kieski and co-authored by Joni Soila. As per an August 6 press statement, the four episodes, each lasting 43 minutes, will be released weekly on Fridays during September across Europe, the U.S, Latin America, Australia, and Southeast Asia.

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