Editing Extortion (section)

===Cases===
In March 2008, Anthony Digati was arrested on federal charges of extortion through interstate communication.  Digati put $50,000 into a variable life insurance policy by [[New York Life Insurance Company]] and wanted a return of $198,303.88.  When the firm did not comply, he threatened to send out six million [[spam email]]s.  He registered a domain in February 2008 that contained New York Life's name in the URL to display false public statements about the company and increased his demand to $3 million.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.patrickpretty.com/2010/04/22/alleged-cyber-extortionist-indicted-feds-say-anthony-digati-tried-to-chill-defame-business-on-internet-to-extract-200000-in-bizarre-social-networking-plot/ |title=Alleged Cyber-Extortionist Indicted: Feds Say Anthony Digati Tried To Chill, Defame Business On Internet To Extract $200,000 In Bizarre Social-Networking Plot |publisher=Patrickpretty.com |date=2010-04-22 |access-date=2014-03-10}}</ref>  According to prosecutors, Digati's intent was not to inform or educate but he wanted to "damage the reputation of New York Life and cost the company millions of dollars in revenue,".<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.nydailynews.com/money/2010/03/08/2010-03-08_anthony_digati_arrested_for_allegedly_threatening_new_york_life_with_email_spam_.html |title=Anthony Digati arrested for allegedly threatening New York Life with email spam attack |publisher=NY Daily News |date=2010-03-08 |first1=Alison |last1=Gendar |access-date=2014-03-10 |archive-date=2011-06-29 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110629064915/http://www.nydailynews.com/money/2010/03/08/2010-03-08_anthony_digati_arrested_for_allegedly_threatening_new_york_life_with_email_spam_.html |url-status=dead }}</ref>  New York Life contacted the [[Federal Bureau of Investigation]] and Digati was apprehended.

On February 15, 2011, Spanish police apprehended a man who attempted to blackmail [[Nintendo]] over customer information he had stolen.  The man stole personal information about 4,000 users and emailed Nintendo Ibérica, Nintendo's Spanish division, and accused the company of data negligence.  He threatened the company that he would make the information public and complain to the Spanish Data Agency if his demands were not met.  After Nintendo ignored his demands, he published some of the information on an Internet forum.  Nintendo notified authorities and the man was arrested in [[Málaga]].  No information has been revealed as to what the man demanded from Nintendo.<ref>{{cite web |last=Woollacott |first=Emma |url=http://www.tgdaily.com/business-and-law-features/54123-police-arrest-man-over-nintendo-extortion |title=Police arrest man over Nintendo extortion |publisher=TG Daily |date=2011-02-15 |access-date=2014-03-10 |archive-date=2017-02-01 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170201131755/http://www.tgdaily.com/business-and-law-features/54123-police-arrest-man-over-nintendo-extortion |url-status=dead }}</ref>

On February 7, 2019, [[Jeff Bezos|Jeffrey P. Bezos]], owner of [[Amazon (company)|Amazon]] and ''[[The Washington Post]]'' and currently one of the [[The World's Billionaires|world's wealthiest people]], accused the ''[[National Enquirer]]'' and its parent company [[American Media, Inc]]., of attempting to extort him by threatening to reveal nude pictures of him unless he publicly stated that he "[has] no knowledge or basis for suggesting that AMI's coverage was politically motivated or influenced by political forces."  This threat was in response to Bezos investigating the tabloid for publishing details about his relationship with [[Lauren Sanchez]], which led to Bezos and his wife Mackenzie announcing their divorce<ref>{{cite news|last=Bezos |first=Jeffrey |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/arts-entertainment/2019/01/09/jeff-bezos-announces-divorce-mackenzie-bezos-after-years-together/ |title=Jeff Bezos announces divorce from MacKenzie Bezos after 25 years together |newspaper=The Washington Post |date=2019-01-09 }}</ref> on January 9 of that year.  Bezos refused and posted the threat on [[Medium (website)|Medium]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://medium.com/@jeffreypbezos/no-thank-you-mr-pecker-146e3922310f |last=Bezos |first=Jeffrey |title=No thank you, Mr. Pecker |publisher=Medium |date=2019-02-07 |access-date=2019-02-08}}</ref>

On October 21, 2020, the news sources reported that roughly 40,000 patient records had been stolen from the [[Finland|Finnish]] private health care provider [[Vastaamo]].<ref>{{Cite web|title=Psychotherapy centre's database hacked, patient info held ransom|url=https://yle.fi/uutiset/osasto/news/psychotherapy_centres_database_hacked_patient_info_held_ransom/11605460|access-date=2020-10-24|website=Yle Uutiset|date=21 October 2020|language=en}}</ref><ref name="Yle20201022">{{Cite web|title=Extortionist publishes more sensitive data on psychotherapy centres' patients|url=https://yle.fi/uutiset/osasto/news/extortionist_publishes_more_sensitive_data_on_psychotherapy_centres_patients/11608960|access-date=2020-10-24|website=Yle Uutiset|date=22 October 2020|language=en}}</ref><ref name="CNN20201027">{{Cite web|last=Sipilä|first=Jarkko|title=Therapy patients in Finland blackmailed after data breach|url=https://www.cnn.com/2020/10/27/tech/finland-therapy-patients-blackmailed-data-breach-intl/index.html|access-date=2020-10-27|website=CNN|date=27 October 2020 }}</ref>  The extorters demanded 40{{nbs}}{{nowrap|bitcoins{{tsp}}{{mdash}}{{tsp}}}}roughly 450,000 euros at the {{nowrap|time{{tsp}}{{mdash}}{{tsp}}}}or the stolen patient data would be published. The extorters published 100 patient records a day on a [[Tor (anonymity network)|Tor message board]] to add pressure for their demands. The leaked patient records contained patients' full names, home addresses, social security numbers, and the therapists' and doctors' notes from each session.<ref name="Yle20201022" /> After the extortion of the company failed, the extorters sent victims an email demanding they pay either 200{{nbs}}euros within 24{{nbs}}hours or 500{{nbs}}euros in 48{{nbs}}hours in order to avoid publishing their sensitive personal data.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Psychotherapy centre data breach victims receive extortion emails|url=https://yle.fi/uutiset/osasto/news/psychotherapy_centre_data_breach_victims_receive_extortion_emails/11612230|access-date=2020-10-24|website=Yle Uutiset|date=24 October 2020|language=en}}</ref> The company's security practices were found to be inadequate: the sensitive data was not encrypted<ref>{{Cite web|date=2020-10-22|title=Tietoturva {{!}} Terapiapotilaisiin kohdistunut tietomurto on voinut vaarantaa tuhansien ihmisten tietosuojan, kyseessä on täysin "poikkeuksellinen tapahtuma"|url=https://www.hs.fi/kotimaa/art-2000006687766.html|access-date=2020-10-24|website=Helsingin Sanomat|language=fi}}</ref> and apparently the system [[Superuser|root password]] was very weak.<ref>{{Cite web|date=2020-10-21|title=Kiristäjä julkaisi suomalaisten arkaluontoisia terapiakeskusteluja – vaatii 450 000:ta euroa tai jatkoa seuraa|url=https://www.is.fi/digitoday/tietoturva/art-2000006676604.html|access-date=2020-10-24|website=Ilta-Sanomat|language=fi}}</ref> The patient records were first accessed by intruders in November 2018, while the security flaws continued to exist until March 2019. The president of Finland described the cyber attack as "relentlessly cruel."<ref name="CNN20201027" />