Some Vastaamo Patients Took Their Own Lives After Therapy Session Leak, Says Lawyer

The widely publicized cyberattack on Finland’s psychotherapy clinic Vastaamo keeps generating ripples years after patient sessions were leaked online. The incident apparently drove some to take their own lives.

The Vastaamo psychotherapy center suffered one of the most publicized cyber incidents in recorded history, resulting in the firing of its CEO, bankruptcy and the arrest of a suspect. It also prompted countless news stories about the harrowing situation the victims found themselves in after getting extorted by phone or seeing their therapy sessions leaked online.

In February 2023, 25-year-old Aleksanteri Kivimäki was extradited to Finland from France. He has been in custody since for alleged crimes related to the hacking of patient records from the Vastaamo psychotherapy center.

Finnish news outlet YLE now reports that, after their patient records were stolen and used for extortion, some victims took their own lives, according to a lawyer representing victims in a class action.

“Lawyer Jenni Raiskio said in her concluding statements that her firm had been contacted by people whose relatives had taken their own lives after the patient records were published online,” the publication writes.

Others had considered doing the same, she said. The data of some 33,000 people was stolen in the hack. Raiskio's firm represents around 1,500 victims in the case.

During Kivimäki’s trial, Raiskio called for a moment of silence for the victims.

Prosecutors say the defendant hacked the clinic as early as 2018, but only started to extort victims two years later. The suit also alleges he originally intended to publish only a part of the information but accidentally leaked it all.

If found guilty, Kivimäki faces a seven-year prison sentence, the maximum possible penalty for his crime. The defense case is scheduled to conclude this Friday, March 8. He has pleaded not guilty to all charges.