Uploaded September 2022 | Updated September 2026, 2 hours ago
ERIC O’NEILL
Former FBI Agent, Author of Gray Day and the Subject of Universal Studios’ feature film, Breach
n this week’s riveting episode, Marcus has a fascinating discussion with Eric O’Neill, former FBI counter-terrorism and counterintelligence operative. Eric played a major role in the arrest, conviction, and imprisonment of one of the most notorious spies in U.S. history – FBI agent Robert Hanssen – who was spying on behalf of the Soviet Union and Russia. Eric’s first-hand accounts of some of his day-to-day activities are events that movies are made of. He has written about his experiences in Gray Day: My Undercover Mission to Expose America’s First Cyber Spy. Eric is also a public speaker and security expert who lectures internationally about espionage and national security, cybersecurity, fraud, corporate diligence and defense, hacking, and other topics.
In this episode you will hear:
My job at the FBI was to go undercover. I never came out of cover.
There were foreign intelligence officers (spies) who sometimes were some of our own who were spying for other countries.
My father told me “You have to chase your dreams, whatever they might be.”
I’m going to stop spies & terrorists before they kill our citizens.
I was at Quantico [Marine Corps Training Base]. You earn it and you feel like you earned it.
When my wife and I were dating and people would ask me what I do, I would say “I work for the Justice Department as a Geo-Political Analyst.” That would immediately end the inquiry.
There was an instance where a high-level spy was about to be arrested, and disappear, which told us there was a mole in our intelligence community.
The FBI went on a 22-year manhunt for a guy code-named Gray Suit, the biggest spy in U.S. history.
Each time you go after somebody who might be the target you’re after, you give them a derivative code name.
What made Robert Hanssen such a successful spy, is that he was a hacker. He learned how to break into computer systems.
When the FBI had not given him the role he wanted, he volunteered his services to the Russians and gave up 2 of our top spies in Russia for no money to prove he had access. One of them was executed, and the other was sentenced to hard labor.
Analysts are the cream of the crop in figuring out how to catch spies.
Hanssen was the best, most notorious spy in US history. He was the Michael Jordan of the spy world. Nobody did the damage he did.
I was always a bit of a hacker – fascinated by computer systems. Breaking security, not to steal, but so I could understand how to make them stronger.
My mother holds the record for the most time watching the movie “Breach.”
—
For More Fun, Follow:
Team Never Quit
Instagram: instagram.com/team_neverquit
Marcus Luttrell
Instagram: instagram.com/marcusluttrell
Morgan Luttrell:
Instagram: instagram.com/mojoluttrell
Andrew Brockenbush:
instagram.com/andrewbrockenbush
—
Support the Show
patreon.com/teamneverquit
—
Special Thanks / Credits
Executive Producer & Artwork - Andrew Brockenbush
Audio Engineer - Joey Garza
Video Editor - John Fritzsching
—
About TNQ Podcast:
Each week join Retired Navy SEAL and Lone Survivor Marcus Luttrell, Morgan Luttrell, and Producer Andrew Brockenbush as they’ll take you into the “briefing room” to chat with incredible guests who share their greatest never quit stories. This humorous, heartfelt, and entertaining podcast is changing lives and has become a beacon of hope and resilience to those who are facing the impossible. One of the best ways we can support our community is to share their stories so that we might inspire others to Never Quit.
We’re bringing you real-life stories of men and women who took life’s toughest challenges and met them head-on, radically changing their own lives and inspiring others to do the same.
ERIC O’NEILL
Former FBI Agent, Author of Gray Day and the Subject of Universal Studios’ feature film, Breach
n this week’s riveting episode, Marcus has a fascinating discussion with Eric O’Neill, former FBI counter-terrorism and counterintelligence operative. Eric played a major role in the arrest, conviction, and imprisonment of one of the most notorious spies in U.S. history – FBI agent Robert Hanssen – who was spying on behalf of the Soviet Union and Russia. Eric’s first-hand accounts of some of his day-to-day activities are events that movies are made of. He has written about his experiences in Gray Day: My Undercover Mission to Expose America’s First Cyber Spy. Eric is also a public speaker and security expert who lectures internationally about espionage and national security, cybersecurity, fraud, corporate diligence and defense, hacking, and other topics.
In this episode you will hear:
My job at the FBI was to go undercover. I never came out of cover.
There were foreign intelligence officers (spies) who sometimes were some of our own who were spying for other countries.
My father told me “You have to chase your dreams, whatever they might be.”
I’m going to stop spies & terrorists before they kill our citizens.
I was at Quantico [Marine Corps Training Base]. You earn it and you feel like you earned it.
When my wife and I were dating and people would ask me what I do, I would say “I work for the Justice Department as a Geo-Political Analyst.” That would immediately end the inquiry.
There was an instance where a high-level spy was about to be arrested, and disappear, which told us there was a mole in our intelligence community.
The FBI went on a 22-year manhunt for a guy code-named Gray Suit, the biggest spy in U.S. history.
Each time you go after somebody who might be the target you’re after, you give them a derivative code name.
What made Robert Hanssen such a successful spy, is that he was a hacker. He learned how to break into computer systems.
When the FBI had not given him the role he wanted, he volunteered his services to the Russians and gave up 2 of our top spies in Russia for no money to prove he had access. One of them was executed, and the other was sentenced to hard labor.
Analysts are the cream of the crop in figuring out how to catch spies.
Hanssen was the best, most notorious spy in US history. He was the Michael Jordan of the spy world. Nobody did the damage he did.
I was always a bit of a hacker – fascinated by computer systems. Breaking security, not to steal, but so I could understand how to make them stronger.
My mother holds the record for the most time watching the movie “Breach.”
—
For More Fun, Follow:
Team Never Quit
Instagram: instagram.com/team_neverquit
Marcus Luttrell
Instagram: instagram.com/marcusluttrell
Morgan Luttrell:
Instagram: instagram.com/mojoluttrell
Andrew Brockenbush:
instagram.com/andrewbrockenbush
—
Support the Show
patreon.com/teamneverquit
—
Special Thanks / Credits
Executive Producer & Artwork - Andrew Brockenbush
Audio Engineer - Joey Garza
Video Editor - John Fritzsching
—
About TNQ Podcast:
Each week join Retired Navy SEAL and Lone Survivor Marcus Luttrell, Morgan Luttrell, and Producer Andrew Brockenbush as they’ll take you into the “briefing room” to chat with incredible guests who share their greatest never quit stories. This humorous, heartfelt, and entertaining podcast is changing lives and has become a beacon of hope and resilience to those who are facing the impossible. One of the best ways we can support our community is to share their stories so that we might inspire others to Never Quit.
We’re bringing you real-life stories of men and women who took life’s toughest challenges and met them head-on, radically changing their own lives and inspiring others to do the same.
