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102 episodes

Ransom Man: 4. The Zen Garden
10/2/2026 | 28 mins.
Authorities think Julius Kivimäki could be responsible for the Vastaamo data breach and the leaking of patient records.
They want to bring him in for questioning, but he’s disappeared. Kivimäki is known to brag about his international lifestyle. He could be anywhere.
Jenny meets Pasi Vainio, the prosecutor who places Kivimäki on Europol’s Most Wanted List. Pasi takes Jenny through the evidence that he and his colleagues have painstakingly gathered, trying to figure out who is ransom_man.
What they find is shocking and surprising, and takes Jenny closer to home than she ever expected.
Through all of this, one man has stood by Kivimäki’s side - his lawyer, Peter Jaari. Jenny heads to Peter’s Helsinki office to see if he can provide any answers.
The search for Kivimäki leads to a confrontation that no one saw coming.
Written and presented by Jenny Kleeman.
Producer: Sam Peach.
Executive Producer: Georgia Catt.
Sound Design: Sam Peach
Original music composed, performed and produced by Echo Collective: Neil Leiter, Margaret Hermant and Fabien Leseure.
A BBC Studios Production
Commissioning Executive is Tracy Williams
Commissioner: Dan Clarke
Ransom Man: 3. For the LOLz
03/2/2026 | 29 mins.
ransom_man’s final post contained clues to his identity. In those clues, former cybercrime detective Antti Kurittu recognises similarities to of the biggest hacker he ever investigated, a Finnish teenager called Julius Kivimäki.
So who is Julius Kivimäki, and could he be the person who held a nation’s darkest secrets to ransom?
Jenny’s search for answers leads her away from Finland, to meet a man in Illinois named Blair. Blair grew up in the hacking scene, and his time in the same circles as Kivimäki would shape his life forever.
Blair found himself at the centre of a vicious online feud that spilled into the real world. It began with an unexpected takeaway delivery and ultimately put his and his family’s life in danger.
Jenny explores how Julius Kivimäki became a globally notorious hacker - his name has been linked to grounding of a plane with a hoax bomb threat, the targeting of elite universities and multinational corporations, and perpetrating tens of thousands of hacks. But was Vastaamo among them?
Written and presented by Jenny Kleeman.
Producer: Sam Peach.
Executive Producer: Georgia Catt.
Sound Design: Sam Peach
Original music composed, performed and produced by Echo Collective.
A BBC Studios Production
Commissioning Executive is Tracy Williams
Commissioner: Dan Clarke
Ransom Man: 2. Whoopsie :D
27/1/2026 | 28 mins.
After a shocking data breach at the Finnish psychotherapy service Vastaamo, a nation’s secrets are being held to ransom by a faceless hacker. Jenny Kleeman traces the story.
After negotiations with Vastaamo fail, ransom_man begins publishing 100 patient records a day on the dark web. He posts a link to the records on popular sites like Reddit and Ylilauta, Finland’s version of 4chan.
He ends the post with one word. “Enjoy!” .
Finland is a nation in panic.
One victim, Meri-Tuuli, heads to the dark web to find out if her notes are among those published, and is appalled by what she sees.
But after a few days, the hacker does something that no one could have foreseen.
Written and presented by Jenny Kleeman.
Producer: Sam Peach.
Executive Producer: Georgia Catt.
Sound Design: Sam Peach
Original music composed, performed and produced by Echo Collective.
A BBC Studios Production
Commissioning Executive is Tracy Williams
Commissioner: Dan Clarke
Ransom Man: 1. Naked
16/1/2026 | 28 mins.
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 living near Helsinki. 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 can he and the police find a way to stop this hacker, who calls himself 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.
Sound Design: Sam Peach.
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
Ransom Man: Trailer
09/1/2026 | 3 mins.
What would you do if your deepest secrets were held to ransom? Jenny Kleeman investigates one of the world's most audacious hacks.
When a shocking data breach takes place at a Finnish psychotherapy service, the nation's darkest secrets are held to ransom by a faceless hacker. He calls himself ransom_man.
Award-winning journalist Jenny Kleeman (BBC Radio 4's The Gift) traces the story from the first extortion email to the hunt to find the hacker and bring him to justice.
We all have some thoughts we'd never write down. Now, just imagine that a criminal 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 him. Jenny finds out what kind of person is prepared to terrorise a nation like this, and the lengths people will go to fight back. On the way, she'll discover that the origins of this dark crime stretch far beyond Finland. Her extraordinary quest leads her around the world and to unexpected places, bringing Jenny face to face with victims, investigators, police and notorious hackers themselves.
It is a cautionary tale about something that could happen anywhere, to any of us, again and again.
Jenny will learn just how vulnerable our deepest secrets can be - and the enormous power that hackers now have to hold our inner lives to ransom.

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About Intrigue

Next On Intrigue: Ransom Man.What would you do if your deepest secrets were held to ransom? Jenny Kleeman investigates one of the world's most audacious hacks. When a shocking data breach takes place at a Finnish psychotherapy service, the nation’s darkest secrets are held to ransom by a faceless hacker. He calls himself ransom_man. Award-winning journalist Jenny Kleeman (BBC Radio 4’s The Gift) traces the story from the first extortion email to the hunt to find the hacker and bring him to justice. We all have some thoughts we’d never write down. Now, just imagine that a criminal 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 him. Jenny finds out what kind of person is prepared to terrorise a nation like this, and the lengths people will go to fight back. On the way, she’ll discover that the origins of this dark crime stretch far beyond Finland. Her extraordinary quest leads her around the world and to unexpected places, bringing Jenny face to face with victims, investigators, police and notorious hackers themselves. It is a cautionary tale about something that could happen anywhere, to any of us, again and again. Jenny will learn just how vulnerable our deepest secrets can be – and the enormous power that hackers now have to hold our inner lives to ransom.Intrigue: 'Jaw-dropping', 'gripping', 'bingeable,' 'thrilling' - dramatic true stories and investigations that reveal how the world really works.

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