FORMER US soldier Cameron John Wagenius, 22, has been sentenced to 70 months in prison for hacking AT&T and Verizon systems and disclosing the call detail records of a government official. Court documents say Wagenius, who used the online name “kiberphant0m”, carried out hacking activity between April 2023 and December 2024 while on active duty. In November 2024, he publicly released the official’s confidential records and threatened to publish more.
According to the documents, Wagenius and accomplices obtained system credentials for at least 10 organisations using the SSH Brute utility and other tools. They used those credentials to access systems, steal data and extort victims through private and public forums, while also selling some information on cybercrime forums and using it for fraud. The conspirators allegedly sought at least $1 million in extortion payments.
Wagenius was arrested in December 2024, admitted in court in February 2025 to sharing confidential phone records, and pleaded guilty in July 2025 to wire fraud conspiracy and extortion. He was also ordered to pay $294,978 in restitution. His alleged co-conspirators include Canadian national Connor Riley Moucka and US citizen John Erin Binns, who were linked to attacks involving AT&T, T-Mobile and the Snowflake campaign.