S9 Ep35: Eric O’Neill on Cybersecurity and Catching One of America’s Most Infamous Spies

Former FBI counterintelligence specialist Eric O’Neill joins
Chris to recount his mission to help capture one of the most
damaging spies in American history: Robert Hanssen. They discuss
Hanssen’s transformation from a wannabe Bond into a real-life
cyber mole, his staggering betrayal of US intelligence, and how
O’Neill built trust with a man he knew he had to take down. Eric
also shares how the Hanssen case shaped his transition into
cybersecurity, explores the rise of cybercrime as a $12 trillion
black-market economy, and explains why AI deepfakes, ransomware,
and social engineering attacks pose growing threats to national
security and everyday life.

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Find more about Eric on his website:
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Secrets and Spies is produced by F & P LTD.
Music by Andrew R. Bird

Secrets and Spies sits at the intersection of intelligence,
covert action, real-world espionage, and broader geopolitics in a
way that is digestible but serious. Hosted by filmmaker Chris
Carr and writer Matt Fulton, each episode unpacks global events
through the lens of intelligence and geopolitics, featuring
expert insights from former spies, authors, and analysts.