Main content
Sorry, this episode is not currently available

1. Naked

Episode 1 of 6

A shocking data breach at a Finnish therapy service. A nation’s secrets are stolen by a hacker called ransom_man. Jenny Kleeman meets Tiina, a victim. Can he be negotiated with?

A shocking data breach at a Finnish psychotherapy service. Jenny Kleeman traces the story of a nation’s secrets held to ransom by a faceless hacker.

We all have some thoughts we’d never write down. Now, just imagine that someone had got hold of those thoughts, and was threatening to publish them for all the world to see if you didn’t pay to stop them.

This is what happened to Tiina, a headteacher from Vantaa, Finland. When decades of stress and anxiety overwhelmed her, she sought support through a therapy service called Vastaamo.

Vastaamo was accessible, affordable, and a national success story. But in September 2020, the company received an email from a hacker claiming to have stolen their entire patient database - including therapy notes.

Antti Kurittu is the cybersecurity specialist tasked with saving the secrets of 33,000 patients, but will the extortionist negotiate, and can he be stopped before it’s too late?

The hacker would come to refer to himself as ransom_man. Before long, Antti, Tiina and a whole nation learn just how far he is willing to go.

Written and presented by Jenny Kleeman.
Producer: Sam Peach.
Executive Producer: Georgia Catt.
Original music composed, performed and produced by Echo Collective: Neil Leiter, Margaret Hermant and Fabien Leseure.
A BBC Studios Production
Commissioning Executive: Tracy Williams
Commissioner: Dan Clarke

Release date:

28 minutes

On radio

Next Tuesday09:00

More episodes

Previous

You are at the first episode

See all episodes from Intrigue

Broadcasts

  • Next Tuesday09:00
  • Wed 21 Jan 202621:00

Podcast