Ex-Soldier Admits Hacking Telcos and Extortion: Faces 20 Years
It's pretty wild when someone in a position of trust, like a former U.S. Army soldier, goes rogue. In this case, Cameron John Wagenius, also known as "kiberphant0m" online, has pleaded guilty to hacking into telecommunications companies. According to the Department of Justice, he wasn't just poking around; he was actively trying to defraud these companies.
The details are pretty interesting. Wagenius and his buddies allegedly stole login credentials, using brute force and other methods, and then shared these credentials via Telegram to plan their next move. Can you imagine the audacity?
However, it didn't stop there. They tried to extort the companies, both privately and on public hacking forums like BreachForums. They also sold stolen data and used the credentials for other scams, including SIM swapping, which is a real pain for the victims.
Earlier this year, Wagenius had already admitted to hacking AT&T and Verizon, which led to a massive data breach of call records. I think it's safe to say he was pretty busy.
Now, Wagenius is looking at some serious time. His sentencing is scheduled for October 6, and he could face up to 20 years in prison. It looks like his digital exploits will land him in a very real-world jail. Furthermore, the hacker has been linked to a series of hacks that originated from the breach of cloud computing services giant Snowflake.
Source: TechCrunch