Hacker behind 'Leak the Analyst' campaign swiftly cuffed after threatening Mandiant

What happens when a hacker takes on a US cybersecurity company like Mandiant, well-known for investigating major leaks and data breaches. Well one tried, and was swiftly arrested.

At the end of July, a mysterious figure online boasted about a new campaign dubbed "Leak The Analyst", designed with the intention of "trashing the reputation" of industry researchers and disclosing sensitive client data of some of the world's biggest security firms.

It started by releasing a batch of documents stolen from the computer of Mandiant threat expert Adi Peretz.

In mid-August, it followed up by releasing more internal data but was largely met with shrugs from the wider community. The promised client data never surfaced.

Two months later, the hacker was reportedly arrested.

Kevin Mandia, chief executive of FireEye, which owns Mandiant, said during a Q3 2017 earnings call that the company had worked closely with police to find the culprit. He noted the person had "falsely claimed" to have infiltrated the firm's corporate networks.

Mandia commented: "As a result of our joint investigation on Thursday, October 26, an individual [has been] arrested by international law enforcement and taken into custody.

"I would like to express my personal gratitude and the gratitude of the entire FireEye team to the law enforcement officers who have worked with us to make this happen.

"Over my career I [have] found it frustrating how little risk or repercussion exists for the attackers who hide behind the anonymity of the internet and cause real harm to well-intentioned people.

"These attackers rarely, if ever get caught and therefore I'm pleased, that in this case we're able to impose repercussions for the attacker and achieve a small victory for the good guys."

Much remains unclear about the case, including the age, gender and location of the alleged cybercriminal who hacked Peretz. But for Mandiant, the news was a rare slice of justice.