U.S. Army soldier Cameron John Wagenius, 20, was arrested and charged this week with unlawfully transferring confidential phone records, following an investigation into his alleged involvement in a cybercriminal ring.
Wagenius is accused of selling sensitive data, including the phone records of high-profile figures such as President-elect Donald Trump and Vice President Kamala Harris, on the black market.
🚨#BREAKING: A U.S. Army Soldier has been Arrested for Allegedly Hacking Trump and Kamala Harris’s Phones, Selling Confidential Phone Records Online
⁰📌#FortCavazos | #TexasCameron John Wagenius, a 20-year-old U.S. Army soldier, has been arrested for allegedly participating… pic.twitter.com/YfM3Eec8V0
— R A W S A L E R T S (@rawsalerts) January 3, 2025
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The charges were revealed in an indictment unsealed earlier this week, which includes two counts of unlawfully transferring confidential phone records.
The indictment follows an arrest on December 20 near Fort Hood, Texas, where Wagenius was stationed. Fort Hood, now known as Fort Cavazos, is a major U.S. Army base located in central Texas.
Wagenius, described by his mother as a “tech-savvy” soldier, previously worked on network communications at an Army base in South Korea before returning to the United States.
His mother, Alicia Roen, expressed shock upon learning of her son’s alleged activities. “I never was aware he was into hacking. It was definitely a shock to me when we found this stuff out,” Roen told cybersecurity journalist Brian Krebs.
She further clarified in a comment to Krebs’ website, “I am his mother and I am not an open book, I was asked general questions about my son’s age and if he was a soldier! That is all I said and Krebs already had this information. I never knew my son was involved in any of this or involved with others until I read Krebs’ first article following my son’s arrest, which was all new news to me!”
Wagenius operated online under the alias “Kiberphant0m” and is accused of being involved in several high-profile data breaches.
According to the charges, he allegedly sold confidential phone records on online forums in November 2023, claiming to have hacked 15 telecommunications companies, including AT&T and Verizon.
One of the most controversial claims made by “Kiberphant0m” was the release of purported call logs from President-elect Trump and Vice President Harris, though the authenticity of these records has not been confirmed by law enforcement.
The arrest is part of an ongoing investigation into a series of data breaches affecting numerous organizations.
Wagenius is believed to have worked alongside other individuals involved in similar activities, including Canadian national Connor Riley Moucka, known online as “Judische,” who was arrested in late October.
Another accomplice, John Binns, is currently detained in Turkey. The group is suspected of stealing and extorting data from customers of the cloud service Snowflake, among other targets.
Allison Nixon, the chief research officer at the cybersecurity firm Unit 221B, played a key role in identifying the real-life identity of “Kiberphant0m.” Nixon, who has been tracking the cybercriminal’s activities, expressed concern over the threats and harassment she and her colleagues faced during the investigation.
“Anonymously extorting the President and VP as a member of the military is a bad idea, but it’s an even worse idea to harass people who specialize in de-anonymizing cybercriminals,” Nixon told KrebsOnSecurity. S
he praised law enforcement for their swift action, noting that the investigation set a “speed record for the fastest turnaround time for an American federal cyber case” that she had witnessed in her career.
Nixon also issued a warning to others involved in cybercrime. “I know that young people involved in cybercrime will read these articles,” she said. “You need to stop doing stupid stuff and get a lawyer. Law enforcement wants to put all of you in prison for a long time.”
The indictment against Wagenius was initially filed in Texas, but the case has since been transferred to the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Washington in Seattle.
This arrest highlights growing concerns over cybersecurity and the ability of military personnel to exploit their positions for criminal activities.
As investigations continue, authorities are working to uncover the full extent of the network involved in the unauthorized transfer of confidential data and other criminal activities.
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