A 20-year-old U.S. Army communications specialist's alleged double life as a cybercriminal unraveled after he reportedly threatened to leak call records belonging to President-elect Trump and Vice President Harris.
Cameron John Wagenius was arrested near Fort Hood, Texas on December 20, facing charges of unlawfully transferring confidential phone records. Operating under the alias "Kiberphant0m," Wagenius allegedly hacked into AT&T and Verizon systems while stationed at an Army base in South Korea, according to reporting by KrebsOnSecurity.
Kiberphant0m sealed his own fate when he brazenly posted what he claimed were stolen AT&T call logs of high-ranking government officials on hacker forums. "In the event you do not reach out to us @ATNT all presidential government call logs will be leaked," he threatened. The hacker also offered a "SIM-swapping" service targeting Verizon's push-to-talk customers, primarily U.S. government agencies and emergency responders.
"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," said Allison Nixon, chief research officer at cybersecurity firm Unit 221B, who helped track down Kiberphant0m's identity.
His mother, Alicia Roen, told KrebsOnSecurity, "I never was aware he was into hacking. It was definitely a shock to me when we found this stuff out."
The case represents what Nixon calls "the fastest turnaround time for an American federal cyber case" she's witnessed in her career – just weeks from identifying the suspect to arrest. Her message to other would-be cybercriminals was blunt: "You need to stop doing stupid shit and get a lawyer. Law enforcement wants to put all of you in prison for a long time."
Previously:
• LEGO site hacked by cryptocurrency scammers
• Nintendo Alarmo hacked already
