Why the extortion of Vastaamo matters far beyond Finland — and how cyber pros are responding

Even for veterans of cybercriminal investigations, the recent extortion of a psychotherapy practice in Finland has been unusual — and disturbing. Rather than sticking only to the common tactic of trying to shake down a breached organization, the attackers who stole tens of thousands of patient records from Vastaamo also demanded ransoms from individual people. In doing so, the thieves have been leveraging some of the most sensitive medical data imaginable, and making it difficult for victims to respond collectively. “Therapeutic notes are at a different level of privacy problems,” said Mikko Hypponen, chief research officer at Finnish cybersecurity company F-Secure. “I know of a handful of cases where patients were blackmailed for their health data, but those were much smaller breaches. There’s never been a crime in Finland with so many victims as in this one.” While the incident has rocked Finland, prompting an emergency government meeting and costing Vastaamo’s CEO his job, […]

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Dealing with a Hacked Brain; Let’s Talk About Depression

This post is different from normal Hackaday fare. I don’t want to presume anything about you, but I’m pretty sure the story I’m about to share resonates with at least some of you.

I’ve been having a tough time, exacerbated by this age of social distancing. This all crept up …read more

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Surviving The Pandemic As A Hacker: Take Care Of Your Mental Health

As we’ve looked at the subject of face masks in the first two parts of this series, our emphasis has been on a physical step to aid your chances of making it through the COVID-19 pandemic in one piece. But given that the upheaval caused by all the social changes …read more

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This matters more: How cyber pros are confronting racism in their own ranks, and beyond

The police killing of George Floyd in Minneapolis last week prompted Leroy Terrelonge to do something he had never done: vividly recall all of his experiences with racism since youth. “I was surprised by how incidents that I had buried deep suddenly surged back to my memory and hurt all over again,” said Terrelonge, 34, a black cyber-risk analyst at Moody’s. “I imagined how they could have taken a wrong turn under certain circumstances and I, too, could be dead.” Terrelonge is one of millions of black Americans experiencing Floyd’s death in visceral ways. He’s also one of many cybersecurity professionals searching for the right balance between work and advancing social justice. The daily grind of reverse-engineering malware feels trivial when police are teargassing peaceful protesters, neighborhoods are in flames and opportunists unaffiliated with black social-justice causes are violently exploiting the unrest. “Information security is not often a matter of life or death, even for those […]

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Maintaining Mental Health While Working from Home

In This Issue: “Maintaining Mental Health While Working from Home”. The May newsletter focuses on mental health while working from home. First, we’ll discuss what is meant by mental health and how staying connected professionally and… Continue reading Maintaining Mental Health While Working from Home

Torch & Everwise merge into affordable exec coaching for all

While companies might pay for a CEO coach, lower level employees often get stuck with lame skill-building worksheets or no mentorship at all. Not only does that limit their potential productivity, but it also makes them feel stagnated and undervalued, leading them to jump ship. Therapy…err…executive coaching is finally becoming destigmatized as entrepreneurs and their […] Continue reading Torch & Everwise merge into affordable exec coaching for all

Mental Health for Hackers: Contents Under Pressure

In 2011, I was in the middle of sitting down when I suddenly felt prickling sensations start from my toes, spread up my legs, and make their way into my arms. I was gasping for air. As the sensation traveled up my spine, it overwhelmed my head, and my … Continue reading Mental Health for Hackers: Contents Under Pressure

Security BSides London 2019, Olga Zilberberg’s ‘Understanding Stress, Anxiety And Depression And How To Cope’

Many thanks to Security BSides London for publishing their outstanding conference videos on YouTube.
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