An American military seemed like a cybercrime genius. He was given his own searches on how to desert Russia

Cameron John Wagenius had no criminal record or a dark past. He had a military uniform, 21 years and a career ahead in the United States Army. But in his spare time, from his bedroom in Texas, It connected as “Kiberphant0m” to telegram groups and forums where stolen credentials are purchased and databases for thousands of dollars are sold. I knew how to move, how to enter without being seen and how to extort technological companies from the shadow.

According to the Department of Justicefor more than a year he directed a campaign that affected at least ten organizations. It was made with private credentials, accessed protected networks and much more. He did it as he continued charging the army and fulfilled functions as an active soldier. Until everything fell apart, not by a filtration, or by a technical error. For himself.

The soldier who moved as a professional cybercrime

Wagenius and his accomplices were coordinated through encrypted chats. They shared passwords, discussed vulnerabilities and talked openly about their next objectives. They used Tools like SSH Brutea brute force solution to enter protected systems, and acted quickly to move stolen data in some of the best known cybercrime forums of the moment.

Once they got access, they launched threats. Sometimes privately, sometimes publicly. They threatened to publish the stolen information if they did not receive money in return. In some cases, they came to sell the data directly. In others, they used that information to launch attacks from Sim Swapping and supplant identities. The goal was always the same: money. The Department of Justice estimates that they tried to extort at least 1 million dollars to the victims.

But while all that happened, Wagenius did something that FBI agents did not expect to find so easily: I left trace. According to judicial documentsin October 2024, in full swing of its operation, it began to search Google how to escape from the country. Literally.

These are some of the searches he made from his personal account:
• “Where you can desert an US military without being extradited”
• “US military personnel deserting Russia”

• “Russia Embassy – Washington DC”
• How to get a fast passport “

In parallel, I wrote to his contacts with phrases such as: “The fun is that if they ever discover me, They can’t immediately arrest me by military law. That gives me time to disappear. ”

The reality was another. Not only did he not escape. All this activity was recovered, documented and used as proof to demonstrate not only its crimes, but its intention to escape.

Wagenius was arrested and declared himself guilty of several serious positions: conspiracy to commit electronic fraud, extortion in relation to computer crimes and aggravated identity. He had already admitted before, in another case linked, his involvement in the illicit transfer of confidential telephone records. His conviction, which will be read on October 6, could add up to 27 years in prison.

The charges have different weight: electronic fraud can cost up to 20 years; Computer extortion, up to five; and the theft of aggravated identity entails a mandatory penalty of two additional years that cannot be combined with the previous ones.

Wagenius had knowledge. I knew how to move around the network and how to hide behind proxies, vpns and Tools that in theory had to protect it. But something in his strategy went wrong. Now he is paying the consequences.

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