A former American soldier admits to participating in a hacking and extortion scheme involving telecom companies.
A former US army soldier stationed in texas Cameron John Wagenius, has pleaded guilty to conspiring to hack into telecommunications companies’ databases, access sensitive records, and extort them by threatening to release the stolen data unless ransoms were paid. The conspiracy occurred between April 2023 and December 18, 2024, using online accounts associated with the nickname “kiberphant0m” and obtaining login credentials for at least 10 victim organizations. They used Telegram group chats to transfer stolen credentials and discuss gaining unauthorized access to victim companies’ networks. After data was stolen, the conspirators extorted victim organizations both privately and in public forums, including threats to post the stolen data on cybercrime forums such as BreachForums and XSS.is. They offered to sell stolen data for thousands of dollars via posts on these forums, successfully selling some of the stolen data and using stolen data to perpetuate other frauds, including SIM-swapping. In total, Wagenius and his co-conspirators attempted to extort at least $1 million from victim data owners. Wagenius is scheduled to be sentenced on October 6 and faces a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison for conspiracy to commit wire fraud, five years in prison for extortion in relation to computer fraud, and a mandatory two-year sentence consecutive to any other prison time for aggravated identity theft.
