Vastaamo hacker traced via ‘untraceable’ Monero transactions, police says

Vastaamo hacker traced via ‘untraceable’ Monero transactions, police says

January 30, 2024 at 02:50PM

Julius Aleksanteri Kivimäki, suspected of attacking Finland’s Vastaamo clinic, was identified by tracing previously thought untraceable Monero transactions. The breach occurred in 2018, and Kivimäki demanded payment in Bitcoin. Investigators followed the payment trail, revealing Kivimäki’s involvement. The case highlights potential weaknesses in Monero’s privacy and he faces severe charges.

Summary of Meeting Notes:

– Julius Aleksanteri Kivimäki is the suspected individual behind the attack on Vastaamo, a psychotherapy clinic in Finland.
– The attack involved the theft of patient records and a demand for ransom in Bitcoin.
– Finnish investigators, with the help of Binance, traced the payments to Kivimäki, who converted the funds to Monero and then back to Bitcoin in an attempt to evade detection.
– Despite the belief in Monero’s transaction privacy, investigative efforts made use of heuristic analysis and other techniques to trace the flow of funds and link them to Kivimäki.
– Kivimäki faces multiple criminal charges related to the data breach, blackmail, dissemination of private information, and extortion, impacting over 21,000 people.
– The prosecutor is seeking an unconditional 7-year imprisonment sentence for Kivimäki, who has denied the allegations and disputed the investigators’ report.

Please let me know if you need any more information or if there’s anything else I can assist you with.

Full Article