Former Fort Hood Pfc. Cameron John Wagenius, 21, pleaded guilty on July 15, 2025, to helping hack into computer databases and steal information for ransoms. (Rose L. Thayer/Stars and Stripes)
AUSTIN, Texas — A former soldier pleaded guilty to being part of a scheme to hack into the databases of telecommunications companies, steal information and then hold it for ransoms while serving at Fort Hood as a private first class.
Cameron John Wagenius, 21, used the nickname “kiberphant0m” and worked with others and defrauded at least 10 organizations by obtaining login credentials for their protected computer networks between April 2023 and December 2024, according to court documents filed Tuesday in the Western District of Washington in Seattle.
The group of hackers used a hacking tool that they called SSH Brute and transferred the stolen information through the Telegram messaging application. Then the group attempted to extort at least $1 million from each organization privately and in public forums — threatening to post the stolen data on cybercrime forums and sell it for thousands of dollars.
They successfully sold at least some of the stolen data and also used stolen data to perpetuate other frauds, according to the Justice Department.
Wagenius was arrested Dec. 20 in Texas, according to court documents. Federal authorities did not reveal how they caught Wagenius or whether the rest of the group is still operating.
Wagenius is scheduled to be sentenced Oct. 6 and faces a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison for conspiracy to commit wire fraud, a maximum penalty of five years for extortion in relation to computer fraud and a mandatory two-year sentence consecutive to any other prison time for aggravated identity theft.
Wagenius, who enlisted in June 2022 as a signal support systems specialist, previously pleaded guilty in a separate case to two counts of unlawful transfer of confidential phone records in connection with this conspiracy.
