Spycatcher Eric O'Neill Plies his Trade on Cybercrime

The Live Drop

Eric O'Neill is a leading cybersecurity expert, former FBI operative, attorney, and founder of The Georgetown Group and NeXasure AI — which works with organizations to protect themselves against cybercriminals—whose activity on the dark web constitutes the world’s third largest economy at over 12 trillion dollars. Eric began his career in the FBI as a “ghost” — an undercover field operative tasked to surveil foreign and domestic spies and terrorists. In 2001, he brought down the nation’s first cyberspy: Robert Hanssen, a 25-year veteran of the FBI and a notorious Russian mole. This story is featured in the critically-acclaimed movie, Breach, and Eric’s book, Gray Day…

In this conversation we talk about how "there are no hackers, only spies" and how the crisis of cybercrime has been influenced by the best espionage attacks. We discuss some things you can do right not to protect yourself from cyber threats, some of what's happening on the dark web and how companies like Crowdstrike and Zscaler deploy defenses against cyberattacks. And lastly how cyber mirrors analog operations using trusted insiders and even deploys a familiar sounding tactic called 'honeytraps."

Currently, Eric is currently working on his new book, The Invisible Threat: Secrets from a Spyhunter in an AI World (HarperCollins, 2025) coming out next year.

Resources and Links:

Gray Day, Eric O'Neill

The Invisible Threat, Eric O'Neill (advanced information)

EricOneill.net

The Georgetown Group

https://x.com/eoneill

Live Drop 69

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