Max’s “Most Wanted: Teen Hacker” Puts PlayStation Attacker Back in the Spotlight
A Decade-Old Holiday Outage Returns to Haunt Gamers
Every gamer who remembers the ruined Christmas of 2014 will recall the name Lizard Squad. The black-hat collective knocked both PlayStation Network and Xbox Live offline, sparking global outrage and a manhunt stretching from North America to the Nordic countries. Now, the best-known face behind that attack, Finnish hacker Julius (Aleksanteri) Kivimäki, steps in front of the camera for Most Wanted: Teen Hacker, a new four-part docuseries debuting on Max in September.
Trailer Teases Bomb Threats, SWATing and Musk Hacks
The first teaser paints Kivimäki as part cult anti-hero, part cautionary tale. Viewers glimpse the breadth of his alleged exploits: hacking Elon Musk’s personal accounts, placing a bomb threat on a flight carrying Sony Online Entertainment president John Smedley, and even SWATing the home of an FBI agent’s family.
From 50,000 Cybercrimes to Six Years Behind Bars
Kivimäki initially avoided jail time in 2015 despite convictions on more than 50,000 hacking charges, largely because he was still a minor. That leniency vanished in 2024, when a Finnish court sentenced him to six years for leaking thousands of sensitive psychotherapy records during the high-profile Vastaamo breach.
Multi-Perspective Storytelling
Director Sami Kieksi weaves interviews with Kivimäki, victims, white-hat peers, and a former FBI investigator to frame a narrative that spans adolescence, notoriety, and eventual capture. Each of the four 43-minute episodes will drop weekly on Fridays throughout September in the United States and Europe.
Why It Matters Now
Most Wanted: Teen Hacker arrives amid heightened concern over teen-driven cybercrime and the ease with which aspiring attackers can rent DDoS “stressers” or leak sensitive data for clout. By giving Kivimäki a platform, while juxtaposing his story with those of his victims, Max hopes to spark debate about rehabilitation, responsibility, and the blurred thrill of online infamy.
Whether the docuseries generates sympathy, scorn, or sober public-policy discussion, one thing is certain: a 2014 holiday headache is about to crash the streaming charts in 2025.
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