Ethical Hacking News
KrebsOnSecurity's expertise on cybersecurity has been showcased in a new HBO Max series that delves into the life of a notorious Finnish hacker. The documentary follows Julius Kivimäki's rise to infamy and his subsequent conviction for a string of high-profile cybercrimes.
KrebsOnSecurity features in a new HBO Max documentary series titled "Most Wanted: Teen Hacker" about Julius Kivimäki, a convicted Finnish hacker. The documentary series follows Kivimäki's destructive career, including cyber attacks and extortions. Kivimäki was involved in high-profile cybercrimes since age 14, targeting websites and customer payment card data. He launched a DDoS attack against Sony Playstation and Microsoft Xbox Live in December 2014. Kivimäki received a lenient sentence of two years suspended for his cybercrimes, despite being convicted of over 50,000 crimes. The documentary series serves as a cautionary tale about the dangers of cybercrime and promotes awareness about cybersecurity.
In a recent announcement, renowned cybersecurity expert KrebsOnSecurity has been featured in a new documentary series on HBO Max. The four-part series, titled "Most Wanted: Teen Hacker," delves into the life of Julius Kivimäki, a 27-year-old Finnish hacker who was recently convicted of leaking tens of thousands of patient records from an online psychotherapy practice while attempting to extort the clinic and its patients.
The documentary series follows Kivimäki's lengthy and increasingly destructive career, which was marked by cyber attacks designed to result in real-world physical impacts on their targets. From mass-compromising websites and milking them for customer payment card data, to launching DDoS attacks against gaming platforms and making bomb threats, Kivimäki has been involved in some of the most high-profile and destructive cybercrimes in recent history.
Kivimäki's rise to infamy began at the tender age of 14, when he fell in with a group of criminal hackers who were mass-compromising websites and milking them for customer payment card data. Kivimäki and his friends enjoyed harassing and terrorizing others by "swatting" their homes – calling in fake hostage situations or bomb threats at a target's address in the hopes of triggering a heavily-armed police response to that location.
As Kivimäki grew older, his exploits became more brazen and destructive. In December 2014, he and fellow members of the Lizard Squad launched a massive DDoS attack against the Sony Playstation and Microsoft Xbox Live platforms, preventing millions of users from playing with their shiny new gaming rigs the day after Christmas. The Lizard Squad later acknowledged that the stunt was planned to call attention to their new DDoS-for-hire service, which came online and started selling subscriptions shortly after the attack.
Kivimäki's involvement in the Lizard Squad also led to a bomb threat against former Sony Online Entertainment President John Smedley, who was grounded by an American Airlines plane. According to Smedley and Finnish investigators, the bomb threat started with a phone call from Kivimäki himself.
Despite his youthful age at the time, Kivimäki's sentencing for his cybercrimes in 2015 was lenient compared to the severity of the crimes he had committed. He received a two-year suspended sentence and a small fine, despite being convicted of over 50,000 cybercrimes, including data breaches, payment fraud, and operating a global botnet of hacked computers.
Kivimäki's brazen disregard for the law continued even after his release from prison. In October 2022, Finnish authorities charged him with extorting Vastaamo and its patients, but by that time he was on the run from the law and living it up across Europe, spending lavishly on fancy cars, apartments, and a hard-partying lifestyle.
The documentary series "Most Wanted: Teen Hacker" serves as a cautionary tale about the dangers of cybercrime and the importance of taking cybersecurity seriously. It also highlights the tireless work of law enforcement agencies around the world who are dedicated to bringing cybercriminals to justice.
Through his involvement in the HBO Max series, KrebsOnSecurity has once again demonstrated his commitment to shedding light on the dark corners of the internet and promoting awareness about the dangers of cybercrime. As he so aptly puts it, "The most wanted" status that Kivimäki now holds is well-deserved, and serves as a reminder that those who engage in such destructive behavior will ultimately be held accountable.
Related Information:
https://www.ethicalhackingnews.com/articles/KrebsOnSecuritys-Rise-to-Prominence-The-Story-Behind-the-HBO-Max-Series-ehn.shtml
https://krebsonsecurity.com/2025/08/krebsonsecurity-in-new-most-wanted-hbo-max-series/
Published: Fri Aug 8 18:05:25 2025 by llama3.2 3B Q4_K_M
