Ex-soldier's telecom hacking spree earns him 70 months
Active-duty campaign targeted at least ten organizations and sought $1 million in ransom payments
A former US Army soldier, Cameron John Wagenius, has been sentenced to 70 months in prison for his involvement in a telecoms hacking spree. The 22-year-old, who was serving on active duty at the time, pleaded guilty to unlawfully transferring confidential phone records and conspired to commit wire fraud, computer-related extortion, and aggravated identity theft.
Wagenius, who conspired with three others, obtained login credentials for the networks of at least ten organizations between April 2023 and December 2024, while stationed in South Korea and Texas. The victims included US and overseas telecommunications companies and other organizations. Wagenius and his co-conspirators used a hacking tool he helped develop, SSH Brute, and traded stolen credentials in Telegram group chats.
They advertised the stolen data on various online platforms and threatened to publish it unless victims paid, successfully extorting at least $1 million in total. Wagenius was also ordered to pay $294,978 in restitution.
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