Julius “Zeekill” Kivimäki, once Europe’s most wanted teenage hacker, has been arrested.
Kivimäki, known for his involvement with the notorious Lizard Squad, was apprehended after a series of cybercrimes that shocked the continent.
A Decade of Cyber Terror
Julius Kivimäki’s cybercrime career began in his early teens and quickly escalated to high-profile attacks.
As a member of Lizard Squad, Kivimäki was involved in various disruptive activities, including the infamous Christmas attacks on Sony’s PlayStation Network and Microsoft’s Xbox Live in 2014.
According to a BBC report, these attacks left millions of gamers unable to access their services during the holiday season.
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Despite being convicted of over 50,000 hacking offenses at the age of 17, Kivimäki received a controversially lenient sentence — a two-year suspended prison term.
This decision was met with widespread criticism, particularly from those within the cybersecurity community who feared it would not deter further criminal activity.
The Vastaamo Data Breach: A New Low
Kivimäki’s most disturbing act came with the hack of Vastaamo, a Finnish psychotherapy center, where he stole sensitive patient data.
In 2020, he attempted to extort the center and thousands of its patients by threatening to release their therapy session notes.
This attack not only risked the privacy of approximately 33,000 individuals but also led to reports of affected patients suffering extreme distress, with some even taking their own lives.
The breach was a national scandal in Finland, described as a disaster for the country’s trust in digital security.
The Finnish police, with international cooperation, intensified their efforts to capture Kivimäki, leading to his arrest in Paris under a false identity.
He was extradited to Finland, facing one of history’s largest trials.
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In court, Kivimäki faced charges for over 30,000 crimes, including aggravated data breach and multiple counts of attempted aggravated blackmail.
He was ultimately sentenced to six years and three months in prison, although he is expected to serve only half of this due to time already served and the Finnish justice system’s regulations.
He has prompted calls for changes in Finnish law to better handle such large-scale data breaches in the future.
Meanwhile, the victims continue to deal with the fallout, with many seeking compensation for the immense personal and psychological damage inflicted.
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Author: Divya