They told their therapists everything. Hackers leaked it all

PLUS: More of WIRED's best longreads from this week.

View this email in your browser  |  Manage newsletter subscriptions  05.09.21 Late last fall, tens of thousands of Finns got the worst email of their lives: A hacker had gotten hold of their therapy records and was threatening to leak the information unless they paid a bitcoin ransom. Everything they'd ever said in confidence—about drug use, marital infidelity, parental abuse, suicide attempts—would be public for all to see. The victims were patients of Vastaamo, which ran the country's largest network of private mental-health providers. Until the breach, the company seemed like another success story in Finland's push to modernize and digitize its health system. It was run by Ville Tapio, a coder turned entrepreneur, who founded it with his parents. They pitched ­Vastaamo as a humble family-run enterprise committed to improving the mental health of all Finns. Now Tapio is an ex-CEO, and the company he founded is being sold for parts. In his latest feature, published on Backchannel this week, William Ralston chronicles what happened at Vastaamo. Anthony Lydgate | Senior Editor, WIRED   They Told Their Therapists Everything. Hackers Leaked It All BY WILLIAM RALSTON | 16-MINUTE READ A mental health startup built its business on easy-to-use technology. Patients joined in droves. Then came a catastrophic data breach.   Everything You've Heard About Section 230 Is Wrong BY GILAD EDELMAN | 34-MINUTE READ These hallowed 26 words shield internet companies from being held responsible for what people post and share. But the web's most sacred law is a false idol.   What a Crossword AI Reveals About Humans' Way With Words BY BEN ZIMMER | 6-MINUTE READ Dr. Fill, a puzzle-solving automaton, came out victorious at last week's national tournament—but human solvers shouldn't throw in the towel just yet.   The Wolf Tree and the World Wide Web BY SUZANNE SIMARD | 16-MINUTE READ In this essay from Finding the Mother Tree, Suzanne Simard reflects on parenting, climate change, and the networks at the heart of the forest.   A Brief History of Transformers (Not the Robot Kind) BY VACLAV SMIL | 3-MINUTE READ This simple electrical device does much of the fundamental work of modern civilization, and it does so modestly and invisibly.   The Power and Pitfalls of Gamification BY KATY MILKMAN | 6-MINUTE READ When tech companies first adopted the technique, there was hardly any science supporting it. Now researchers know when gamelike features help—and when they hurt. GET WIRED Stare the future right in the eye. Get 1 year of unlimited access to WIRED for less than $2 per month. Plus, get a free tote. Subscribe now.         This e-mail was sent to you by WIRED. To ensure delivery to your inbox (not bulk or junk folders), please add our e-mail address, wired@newsletters.wired.com, to your address book.   View our Privacy Policy Unsubscribe or manage your newsletter subscriptions   Copyright © Condé Nast 2021. One World Trade Center, New York, NY 10007. All rights reserved.