Former Army soldier sentenced for cybercrime and extortion spree

Cameron James Wagenius, a 22-year-old former U.S. Army soldier, has been sentenced to 70 months in prison for a widespread cybercrime and extortion campaign. While serving on active duty at Fort Hood, Wagenius operated under the online alias “kiberphant0m” and helped develop a hacking tool used to target at least 10 organizations between April 2023 and December 2024.

The hacking group targeted telecommunications companies both in the United States and abroad, gaining access to sensitive data including phone call logs. The group attempted to extort more than $1 million from victims and successfully sold some of the stolen information. In November 2024, Wagenius published posts disclosing confidential call detail records belonging to a government official and the family members of another former official, threatening further releases unless a ransom was paid.

Wagenius pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit wire fraud, computer-related extortion, and aggravated identity theft. In addition to his prison sentence, he was ordered to pay $294,978 in restitution.