The capture of a hacker, one of Europe's most wanted criminals, ended an 11-year streak of cybercrime.
According to a BBC report, Julius Kivimaki has been jailed for blackmailing 33,000 patients who were undergoing or undergoing therapy with their stolen session notes.
The report added that the crime wave began when Julius was just 13, propelling him to prominence in a network of anarchist teenage hacking gangs.
According to a report from Business Insider, the Finnish hacker was sentenced to six years and three months in prison on Monday after the Western Uusimaa District Court found him guilty of all charges.
The charges reportedly include 9,231 counts of disseminating information invading personal privacy and 20,745 counts of attempted aggravated extortion.
After being extradited to Finland from France, Mr Julius was charged in October last year, the report said.
The Finnish legal system published a bulletin in which the court revealed that Vastaamo, a private psychotherapy service with centers across the country, had been hacked in November 2018.
Hacking the psychotherapy service provider resulted in an illegal copy of the patient database.
According to the BBC, in 2020 the 26-year-old demanded a ransom of more than 400,000 euros, or $426,818 (₹3,55,88,362), from the therapy company.
Other reports from Finnish media say demand was much higher, at 450,000 euros ($534,000).
Furthermore, Mr. Julius demanded that the ransom be paid by the psychotherapy center in Bitcoin.
After the psychotherapy center refused to pay the ransom, Mr. Julius emailed thousands of patients asking for 200 euros, or $213, the BBC reported.
While threatening to publish their confidential therapy notes and personal details online, Mr Julius also warned patients that the amount would be increased to €500 unless it was paid within 24 hours.
Shortly after the threat, confidential information reportedly appeared on the dark web. This also included patients' personal information, social security numbers, and therapists' and doctors' sensitive notes from their private sessions.
The BBC report noted that at least one suicide has been linked to this case.
While Mr Julius denied all allegations, the legal bulletin cited evidence presented at the trial that confirmed his involvement.