Security News > 2020 > October > Vastaamo Breach: Hackers Blackmailing Psychotherapy Patients

Cybercriminals have hacked the systems of psychotherapy giant Vastaamo - and are now reaching out to therapy patients, threatening to dump their patient files if they do not pay a ransom.

Finland-based Vastaamo, which has more than 40,000 psychotherapy patients, said on its website that its customer register was likely compromised between the end of November 2018 and March 2019.

The breach - and subsequent reports of the hacker directly contacting patients with blackmail threats - is serious enough that it spurred an emergency meeting on Sunday in Finland's Cabinet.

According to reports, the attackers acquired the records of patients who had registered before the end of November 2018.

Making matters worse, according to Vastaamo and to various reported victims speaking out on Twitter, the cybercriminals are now approaching patients and demanding a ransom of $240 from them - which is an amount increased to 500€ if they do not pay within 24 hours.

News URL

https://threatpost.com/vastaamo-hackers-blackmailing-therapy-patients/160536/