What Happened When 33,000 People’s Therapy Notes Were Released Onto the Internet

In October 2020, people across Finland began receiving alarming emails. These weren't ordinary spam; they contained deeply personal information: names, contact details, social security numbers, and, most disturbingly, confirmation that the recipients had been undergoing psychotherapy through a service called Vastaamo. The sender, a hacker demanding ransom, threatened to release their therapy notes online for the entire world to see if payment wasn't made.

The Initial Shock and the Hacker's Demands

Jenny Kleeman, a journalist who covered this story for the BBC in her podcast "Ransom Man," explains the immediate impact. Tina, a head teacher, received the email on a Saturday amidst a frantic period at her school due to a COVID outbreak. She was unwinding in a sauna when she saw the email, which contained her personal details and the threat of her therapy notes being released. Tina, who had relied on therapy as a lifeline through years of caring for two children with severe disabilities and a marriage in crisis, was terrified. She initially thought she was the only victim and called the police, who, unaware of the scale of the attack, dismissed her call as non-emergency.

However, Tina was far from alone. Kleeman reveals that 33,000 people across Finland received the same email. The hacker demanded a payment of 200 euros in Bitcoin within 24 hours, threatening to increase the ransom to 500 euros within 48 hours, after which the notes would be released. This created immense pressure on the victims.