The Cybercriminal Zeekill: From Bomb Threats to Prison Bars

The Cybercriminal Zeekill: From Bomb Threats to Prison Bars

A bomb threat on an American Airlines flight in 2014 led to the diversion of the plane to Phoenix by US Air Force jets. The threat was made by a man claiming to be a Sony gaming executive, John Smedley, seeking revenge for a social media comment. The culprit behind the threat was identified as Aleksanteri “Julius” Kivimäki, a 17-year-old from Finland, who was later convicted of cybercrime charges, including the bomb hoax.

Kivimäki, known online as Zeekill, was involved in numerous cybercrimes, including hacking into Elon Musk's Twitter account and swatting incidents against Americans. Despite facing charges and a six-year sentence for extortion, Kivimäki downplays his actions, claiming they were harmless and trendy within his online communities.

Growing up in Finland, Kivimäki dropped out of school to pursue hacking and joined the Lizard Squad, a group focused on creating chaos and gaining power through hacking. He allegedly earned millions through his criminal activities, including phishing scams and ransom demands. Kivimäki's brazen behavior, such as appearing on Sky News to discuss hacking incidents, shocked investigators and the public.

Kivimäki's criminal activities escalated when he hacked into Vestaamo, a psychotherapy company in Finland, and held patient data hostage. The attack led to the suicide of a patient and significant repercussions for the company's CEO. Despite his jet-setter lifestyle and attempts to evade capture, Kivimäki was arrested in Paris in 2022 and sentenced to over six years in a Finnish maximum-security prison. He may be released soon, showing no remorse for his victims and claiming to have suffered as much as them.