<
https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2026/jan/17/vastaamo-hack-finland-therapy-notes>
"Tiina Parikka was half-naked when she read the email. It was a Saturday in
late October 2020, and Parikka had spent the morning sorting out plans for
distance learning after a Covid outbreak at the school where she was
headteacher. She had taken a sauna at her flat in Vantaa, just outside
Finland’s capital, Helsinki, and when she came into her bedroom to get dressed,
she idly checked her phone. There was a message that began with Parikka’s name
and her social security number – the unique code used to identify Finnish
people when they access healthcare, education and banking. “I knew then that
this is not a game,” she says.
The email was in Finnish. It was jarringly polite. “We are contacting you
because you have used Vastaamo’s therapy and/or psychiatric services,” it read.
“Unfortunately, we have to ask you to pay to keep your personal information
safe.” The sender demanded €200 in bitcoin within 24 hours, otherwise the price
would go up to €500 within 48 hours. “If we still do not receive our money
after this, your information will be published for everyone to see, including
your name, address, phone number, social security number and detailed records
containing transcripts of your conversations with Vastaamo’s therapists or
psychiatrists.”
Parikka swallows hard as she relives this memory. “My heart was pounding. It
was really difficult to breathe. I remember lying down on the bed and telling
my spouse, ‘I think I’m going to have a heart attack.’”
Someone had hacked into Vastaamo, the company through which Parikka had
accessed psychotherapy. They’d got hold of therapy notes containing her most
private, intimate feelings and darkest thoughts – and they were holding them to
ransom. Parikka’s mind raced as she tried to recall everything she’d confided
during three years of weekly therapy sessions. How would her family react if
they knew what she’d been saying? What would her students say? The sense of
exposure and violation was unfathomable: “It felt like a public rape.”"
Cheers,
*** Xanni ***
--
mailto:xanni@xanadu.net Andrew Pam
http://xanadu.com.au/ Chief Scientist, Xanadu
https://glasswings.com.au/ Partner, Glass Wings
https://sericyb.com.au/ Manager, Serious Cybernetics
