Eric Michael O'Neill (born March 3, 1973) is an American former FBI

counter-terrorism Counterterrorism (also spelled counter-terrorism), also known as anti-terrorism, incorporates the practices, military tactics, techniques, and strategies that governments, law enforcement, business, and intelligence agencies use to combat or ...

and

counterintelligence Counterintelligence is an activity aimed at protecting an agency's intelligence program from an opposition's intelligence service. It includes gathering information and conducting activities to prevent espionage, sabotage, assassinations or ...

operative. He worked as an Investigative Specialist with the

Special Surveillance Group The Special Surveillance Group (SSG) is a highly classified unit of "Investigative Specialists", distinct from Special Agents, within the US Federal Bureau of Investigation that specialize in clandestine vehicular and foot surveillance of foreign n ...

(SSG) and played a major role in the arrest, conviction, and imprisonment of FBI agent Robert Hanssen for spying on behalf of the

Soviet Union The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen nationa ...

and

Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and Northern Asia. It is the largest country in the world, with its internationally recognised territory covering , and encompassing one-ei ...

. His book written about this experience, '' Gray Day: My Undercover Mission to Expose America's First Cyber Spy'', was published in spring 2019. He is a public speaker and security expert who currently lectures internationally about

espionage Espionage, spying, or intelligence gathering is the act of obtaining secret or confidential information ( intelligence) from non-disclosed sources or divulging of the same without the permission of the holder of the information for a tang ...

and

national security National security, or national defence, is the security and defence of a sovereign state, including its citizens, economy, and institutions, which is regarded as a duty of government. Originally conceived as protection against military att ...

cybersecurity Computer security, cybersecurity (cyber security), or information technology security (IT security) is the protection of computer systems and networks from attack by malicious actors that may result in unauthorized information disclosure, t ...

, fraud, corporate diligence and defense, hacking, and other topics.

Early life

O'Neill graduated from

Gonzaga College High School Gonzaga College High School is a private Catholic college-preparatory high school for boys in Washington, D.C. Founded by the Jesuits in 1821 as the Washington Seminary, Gonzaga is named in honor of Aloysius Gonzaga, an Italian saint from the 1 ...

in Washington, D.C., in 1991. He earned a

B.A. Bachelor of arts (BA or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree course is generally completed in three or four yea ...

, with honors, in

political science Political science is the scientific study of politics. It is a social science dealing with systems of governance and power, and the analysis of political activities, political thought, political behavior, and associated constitutions and ...

and

psychology Psychology is the science, scientific study of mind and behavior. Psychology includes the study of consciousness, conscious and Unconscious mind, unconscious phenomena, including feelings and thoughts. It is an academic discipline of immens ...

from

Auburn University Auburn University (AU or Auburn) is a public land-grant research university in Auburn, Alabama. With more than 24,600 undergraduate students and a total enrollment of more than 30,000 with 1,330 faculty members, Auburn is the second largest ...

in 1995, where he was a member of the

Theta Xi Theta Xi () is a North American Greek-letter social college fraternity. It was founded at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (RPI) on April 29, 1864. Of all the social fraternities today, Theta Xi was the only one founded during the Civil War. Its ...

fraternity.David Morrison and Mike Clardy, Auburn University
"AU Alum’s Role in Capturing Spy Inspires Motion Picture ''Breach''"
February 13, 2007; retrieved February 21, 2007

Career

FBI

After a career as a counterintelligence and counter-terrorism field operative, O'Neill was assigned to report to Hanssen in the newly established Information Assurance Section. His true role was to learn as much as possible about what information Hanssen had divulged to the Soviet Union and Russia. Ultimately, investigators made a dramatic move to obtain a "

smoking gun The term "smoking gun" is a reference to an object or fact that serves as conclusive evidence of a crime or similar act, just short of being caught '' in flagrante delicto''. "Smoking gun" refers to the strongest kind of circumstantial evidenc ...

". While others briefly disrupted Hanssen's routine and confidence, maneuvering him into relaxing his rigid control of his

Palm Pilot The PalmPilot Personal and PalmPilot Professional are the second generation of Palm PDA devices produced by Palm Inc (then a subsidiary of U.S. Robotics, later 3Com). These devices were launched on March 10, 1997. Accessories and pricing Pa ...

Fresh Air with Terry Gross ''Fresh Air'' is an American radio talk show broadcast on National Public Radio stations across the United States since 1985. It is produced by WHYY-FM in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The show's host is Terry Gross. , the show was syndicated to ...

"Eric O'Neill and Billy Ray Discuss ''Breach''"
retrieved January 31, 2007 O'Neill, under intense time pressure, obtained the Palm Pilot, took it to FBI technical staff to download its encrypted contents, and returned it, apparently undetected. O'Neill notes that he could not recall which pocket he had taken the device from, and has speculated that had Hanssen detected the disturbance of his device, he would have realized that all hope of continued freedom was lost and might have shot O'Neill dead on the spot. Hanssen was arrested on February 18, 2001, at

Foxstone Park Foxstone Park is a park located at 1910 Creek Crossing Road in Vienna, Fairfax County, Virginia, USA and run by the Fairfax County Park Authority. Robert Hanssen Robert Hanssen, who was convicted of spying for the Soviet Union and Russia, co ...

near his home in

Vienna en, Viennese , iso_code = AT-9 , registration_plate = W , postal_code_type = Postal code , postal_code = , timezone = CET , utc_offset = +1 , timezone_DST ...

Virginia Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States, between the Atlantic Coast and the Appalachian Mountains. The geography and climate of the Commonwealth are ...

, charged with selling American secrets to

for $1.4 million in cash and

diamond Diamond is a solid form of the element carbon with its atoms arranged in a crystal structure called diamond cubic. Another solid form of carbon known as graphite is the chemically stable form of carbon at room temperature and pressure, b ...

s over a 22-year period. O'Neill's subterfuge had apparently deceived Hanssen, as part of the

dead drop A dead drop or dead letter box is a method of espionage tradecraft used to pass items or information between two individuals (e.g., a case officer and an agent, or two agents) using a secret location. By avoiding direct meetings, individuals c ...

contained an evaluation of O'Neill's possibly replacing Hanssen as a mole when he retired. On 6 July 2001, Hanssen pleaded guilty to 15 counts of espionage.''Transcript of Hanssen Guilty Plea''
July 6, 2001; retrieved February 22, 2007 Hanssen was sentenced to

life in prison Life imprisonment is any sentence of imprisonment for a crime under which convicted people are to remain in prison for the rest of their natural lives or indefinitely until pardoned, paroled, or otherwise commuted to a fixed term. Crimes for ...

. His

treason Treason is the crime of attacking a state authority to which one owes allegiance. This typically includes acts such as participating in a war against one's native country, attempting to overthrow its government, spying on its military, its diplo ...

has been described as "possibly the worst intelligence disaster in US history."

Post-FBI

Following the Hanssen case, O'Neill decided to leave the FBI in order to focus on law school. O'Neill earned a J.D. with honors from

The George Washington University Law School The George Washington University Law School (GW Law) is the law school of George Washington University, in Washington, D.C. Established in 1865, GW Law is the oldest top law school in the national capital. GW Law offers the largest range of cour ...

in 2003. He has been

admitted to the bar An admission to practice law is acquired when a lawyer receives a license to practice law. In jurisdictions with two types of lawyer, as with barristers and solicitors, barristers must gain admission to the bar whereas for solicitors there are dist ...

Maryland Maryland ( ) is a state in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It shares borders with Virginia, West Virginia, and the District of Columbia to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; and Delaware and the Atlantic Ocean t ...

and in the

District of Columbia ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle (Washington, D.C.), Logan Circle, Jefferson Memoria ...

. After graduating from law school, O'Neill joined DLA Piper US LLP as a Senior Associate in the Government Contracts Group. In December 2008, O'Neill left DLA Piper and accepted a position as General Counsel of Global Communities, formerly CHF International, a global humanitarian relief non-profit organization. In February 2009, O'Neill co-founded The Georgetown Group, an investigative and risk management company. In July 2013, O'Neill co-founded the Schiltron Group, a supply chain assurance and critical infrastructure protection company. On March 16, 2016, O'Neill was named National Security Strategist for

Carbon Black Carbon black (subtypes are acetylene black, channel black, furnace black, lamp black and thermal black) is a material produced by the incomplete combustion of coal and coal tar, vegetable matter, or petroleum products, including fuel oil, fluid ...

, an

endpoint security Endpoint security or endpoint protection is an approach to the protection of computer networks that are remotely bridged to client devices. The connection of endpoint devices such as laptops, tablets, mobile phones, Internet-of-things device ...

company.

Media portrayals

O'Neill is portrayed by

Ryan Phillippe Matthew Ryan Phillippe (; born September 10, 1974) is an American actor. After appearing as Billy Douglas on the soap opera ''One Life to Live'', he came to fame in the late 1990s with starring roles in films including ''I Know What You Did Las ...

in the 2007

thriller Thriller may refer to: * Thriller (genre), a broad genre of literature, film and television ** Thriller film, a film genre under the general thriller genre Comics * ''Thriller'' (DC Comics), a comic book series published 1983–84 by DC Comics i ...

Breach Breach, Breached, or The Breach may refer to: Places * Breach, Kent, United Kingdom * Breach, West Sussex, United Kingdom * ''The Breach'', Great South Bay in the State of New York People * Breach (DJ), an Electronic/House music act * Miroslav ...

'', which depicts O'Neill's role in the investigation and capture of Hanssen. A feature-length commentary track on the DVD features O'Neill with director Billy Ray. O'Neill expands on the film, offering additional background and details, as well as noting where actual events were changed on the film for dramatic purposes. O'Neill's memoir about the Hanssen case, '' Gray Day: My Undercover Mission to Expose America's First Cyber Spy'', was published by Penguin Random House in spring 2019.

References

External links

Official Website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Oneill, Eric 1973 births American lawyers 21st-century American businesspeople Auburn University alumni Federal Bureau of Investigation agents George Washington University Law School alumni Living people Gonzaga College High School alumni