British soldier ignored order to pull his SIM card, then got blackmailed

British Army corporal Daniel Barton-Kennedy was ordered before deploying to Estonia in January 2026 to remove his SIM card, switch off location settings and use a trusted VPN, but kept his phone active and had nude photos stolen from it by an unknown attacker who identified him on social media. He paid the blackmailer 100 pounds, refused a further 250 pound demand and then reported the compromise; he pleaded guilty at a court-martial to disobeying a lawful command, was reduced in rank and sentenced to 10 months in detention, and his appeal was denied in August 2026.