A former US soldier was sentenced to 70 months in prison for hacking into AT&T and Verizon systems and leaking the call detail records of a government official.
The individual, Cameron John Wagenius, 22, a former Army soldier, allegedly hacked into wireless carriers’ databases to retrieve sensitive information and extort the victims, documents presented in court show.
He engaged in hacking activities between April 2023 and December 2024, while on active duty.
According to court documents, in November 2024, Wagenius publicly disclosed the confidential call detail records of a government official and threatened to release additional confidential records.
Wagenius was using the online moniker “kiberphant0m” and conspired with others to defraud at least 10 organizations by obtaining credentials for their systems using the SSH Brute utility and other tools.
The cybercriminals used the credentials to access the victim organizations’ systems and exfiltrate data, and then extorted them on private and public forums, threatening to publish the stolen information.
Wagenius and his accomplices also sold some of the stolen data via cybercrime forums, and used some of it for other fraudulent activities.