Ransom Man: 5. 635 Years of Suffering

Ransom Man: 5. 635 Years of Suffering

From Intrigue by BBC Radio 4

February 17, 2026 · 29 min · Season 11 · Episode 5

About this episode

Tomi Haustola shares his experience as a victim of the Vastaamo data breach during a court trial against the suspected extortionist.

Within a month of the Vastaamo data breach, Tomi Haustola, a Finnish stand up comedian, is on stage making jokes about it. But Tomi himself is one of the thousands of victims. He tells Jenny how he went to Vastaamo because he was burnt-out and anxious and couldn’t tell anyone - except his therapist. When he discovers a hacker had stolen his therapy notes, Tomi decides to share his story with the audience. Many of them are victims themselves. But he doesn’t expect a letter to arrive for him, years after the hack, inviting him to view the trial of Julius Kivimäki, the man authorities suspected of being the extortionist ransom_man. Bringing the case against him is the Prosecutor Pasi Vainio. Kivimäki is defended by the lawyer who has been with him since the beginning - Peter Jaari. Also present is Jenni Raiskio, the lawyer representing victims of the hack, making sure they are not forgotten amidst the TV cameras and photographers. As Jenny follows the unfolding of the court case and the trial nears its conclusion, something happens that puts everything in jeopardy. Written and presented by Jenny Kleeman. Producer: Sam Peach. Executive Producer: Georgia Catt. Sound Design: Sam Peach…

People in this episode

Host: Jenny Kleeman

Guest: Tomi Haustola

Topics covered

  • data breach
  • mental health
  • court trial
  • extortion
  • victim stories

Keywords

  • Vastaamo
  • data breach
  • Tomi Haustola
  • court trial
  • Julius Kivimäki
  • mental health
  • extortion
  • victims

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: Vastaamo, BBC Studios

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