Meet Eric

Eric O’Neill’s career began in the FBI’s counterintelligence trenches as an undercover operative. Since then, he has spent decades as a national security attorney, corporate investigator, and national cybersecurity strategist. He speaks to thousands each year across the globe, inspiring audiences to protect themselves and giving them actionable tools to do so.

Legendary Spy Hunter

In February 2001, Eric helped capture the most notorious spy in United States history, Robert Phillip Hanssen. In the three months preceding Hanssen’s arrest, Eric was selected to work with the spy within the newly minted information assurance division, created to protect all classified FBI intelligence. Eric was charged with gaining Hanssen’s trust and then using that relationship to slowly draw the traitor out of deep cover. Eric’s investigative skill led to the arrest and ultimate conviction of the master spy.

Cybersecurity Credentials

Eric is the founder of The Georgetown Group, a premier security services firm, and he serves as a national security strategist to cybersecurity companies. Eric’s time in counterintelligence, counterespionage, and the Dark Web give him unparalleled credentials.

Eric is an honors graduate of Auburn University. He earned his Juris Doctor degree from The George Washington University Law School, also with honors.

Engaging Keynote Speaker

Eric speaks to thousands each year across the globe, inspiring audiences to protect themselves and giving them actionable tools to do so. He customizes every keynote and shares jaw-dropping stories with teachable moments, including how he brought down Robert Hanssen, the nation’s first cyber spy. His lively style brings cybersecurity risks, data, and tactics to life.

Author & Cybersecurity Expert

Eric O’Neill is the author of the Gray Day, a book that Publisher’s Weekly called “an adrenaline-laced memoir” and “as compulsively readable as any thriller.” His true story was also featured in the spy thriller film Breach.

His upcoming book, The Invisible Threat, HarperCollins 2025, will show readers how to take up arms in the current cyber war.

Eric is also a media commentator. He and his work have been covered by CNN, C-Span, Fox, NPR, Newsweek, TechCrunch, “Fresh Air with Terry Gross,” World News Now, Access Hollywood, and more.

Surviving Hollywood

Eric first splashed into Hollywood with Universal Pictures’ critically acclaimed movie Breach, starring Ryan Philippe as Eric O’Neill and Chris Cooper as Robert Hanssen. The film is set inside the FBI, the gatekeeper of the nation’s most sensitive and potentially volatile secrets, and it reveals the story of how Eric went undercover to catch the most damaging spy in United States history.

Since Breach, Eric has consulted on numerous television series and movie projects. He has also personally appeared on numerous series, including FBI True, America’s Book of Secrets, and Spy Wars with Damian Lewis.