FORMER US Army soldier Cameron John Wagenius, 22, has been sentenced to 70 months in prison and ordered to pay $294,978 in restitution for a hacking and extortion campaign targeting telecommunications companies. The US Department of Justice said Wagenius, who used the online alias “kiberphant0m”, acted with co-conspirators between April 2023 and 18 December 2024 while on active duty.
They obtained network credentials, including through SSH Brute, a hacking tool Wagenius helped develop, and used Telegram to exchange credentials and coordinate access.
At least 10 organisations were targeted. The group stole confidential records, threatened to publish them on cybercrime forums including BreachForums and XSS.is, and offered some data for sale. The campaign involved attempted extortion of more than $1 million, and stolen information was also used in further fraud, including SIM-swapping.
In November 2024, Wagenius published confidential non-content call-detail records belonging to a government official and relatives of another former official, while threatening to release more unless a ransom was paid. The Justice Department said one post indicated retaliation for the arrest of another cybercriminal.
Wagenius pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit wire fraud, computer-related extortion and aggravated identity theft on 15 July 2025. He separately pleaded guilty on 5 March 2025 to two counts involving the unlawful transfer of confidential phone-record information. The FBI, the Department of Defense’s Defense Criminal Investigative Service and the Army investigated the case, identifying and arresting him within weeks of his public threats.