MG
Marc Goodman
Global Security Strategist and Author of Future Crimes
Eric O'Neill
Former FBI Counterintelligence Operative and Author of Gray Day
Insider Threat · Espionage · Cybersecurity
Speaking Fee
Fee on request
Based In
United States
Signature Topic
Insider Threat and Espionage
Format
Keynote
About Eric
Eric O'Neill worked as an investigative specialist in the FBI's Special Surveillance Group, and played a central role in the operation that caught Robert Hanssen, the FBI agent who spied for the Soviet Union and then Russia for more than two decades and is generally described as the most damaging spy in United States history.
He worked undercover alongside Hanssen in the final phase of that investigation, a period he wrote about in Gray Day: My Undercover Mission to Expose America's First Cyber Spy, published in 2019. The operation was dramatised in the film Breach, in which his role is the central one.
That experience is the substance of his material rather than an anecdote attached to it. Hanssen was an insider with legitimate credentials and every reason to be trusted, which is exactly the case that perimeter security, access controls and threat feeds are worst at catching. Most organizations are still built to keep attackers out rather than to notice the person already inside.
He now runs The Georgetown Group, an investigative and security consultancy in Washington DC, and lectures internationally on espionage, national security, cybersecurity, fraud and corporate defence.
His sessions are narrative in structure, which suits a subject that is fundamentally about behaviour and judgement rather than configuration, and they are commonly booked where the audience includes people who will never read a security policy but do decide who gets access to what.
Keynote Topics
Catching the Spy: Lessons From the Hanssen Investigation
The Insider Threat Your Controls Will Not Catch
Espionage, Nation State Actors and Corporate Risk
Building a Security Culture That Notices
Best For
- Cybersecurity and information security conferences
- Executive and board risk briefings
- Government, defence and law enforcement events
- Financial services and legal sector conferences
- Company-wide security awareness meetings
Booking Eric O'Neill: Frequently Asked Questions
What is Eric O'Neill's speaking fee?
Eric O'Neill's fee is not published and is quoted per event. It is driven by event date, location and travel, session length, and whether an executive briefing, moderated Q&A or book copies are added to the keynote. Submit an inquiry with your date and audience size for a current quote and availability.
What was his role in the Hanssen case?
He was an investigative specialist in the FBI's Special Surveillance Group and worked undercover alongside Robert Hanssen during the final phase of the investigation that led to Hanssen's arrest and conviction for spying for the Soviet Union and later Russia. The operation was dramatised in the film Breach.
Is the session a war story or a security session?
Both, and the structure is deliberate. Hanssen was an insider with legitimate credentials and every reason to be trusted, which is the case perimeter controls and threat feeds are worst at catching. The narrative carries an argument about what organizations are still not built to notice.
What kind of audiences book him?
Security conferences, board and executive risk briefings, government and defence events, and company-wide security meetings. The narrative format works particularly well for audiences who will never read a security policy but do decide who gets access to what.
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Eric O'Neill
Former FBI Counterintelligence Operative and Author of Gray Day
Fee on request
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