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

Secrets and Spies Podcast: Espionage | Global Issues | Current Affairs

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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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.