Gray Day
My Undercover Mission to Expose America's First Cyber Spy
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4.2 • 68 Ratings
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- $13.99
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- $13.99
Publisher Description
A cybersecurity expert and former FBI “ghost” tells the thrilling story of how he helped take down notorious FBI mole Robert Hanssen, the first Russian cyber spy.
“Both a real-life, tension-packed thriller and a persuasive argument for traditional intelligence work in the information age.”—Bruce Schneier, New York Times bestselling author of Data and Goliath and Click Here to Kill Everybody
Eric O’Neill was only twenty-six when he was tapped for the case of a lifetime: a one-on-one undercover investigation of the FBI’s top target, a man suspected of spying for the Russians for nearly two decades, giving up nuclear secrets, compromising intelligence, and betraying US assets. With zero training in face-to-face investigation, O’Neill found himself in a windowless, high-security office in the newly formed Information Assurance Section, tasked officially with helping the FBI secure its outdated computer system against hackers and spies—and unofficially with collecting evidence against his new boss, Robert Hanssen, an exacting and rage-prone veteran agent with a fondness for handguns. In the months that follow, O’Neill’s self-esteem and young marriage unravel under the pressure of life in Room 9930, and he questions the very purpose of his mission. But as Hanssen outmaneuvers an intelligence community struggling to keep up with the new reality of cybersecurity, he also teaches O’Neill the game of spycraft. The student will just have to learn to outplay his teacher if he wants to win.
A tension-packed stew of power, paranoia, and psychological manipulation, Gray Day is also a cautionary tale of how the United States allowed Russia to become dominant in cyberespionage—and how we might begin to catch up.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Former FBI undercover operative O'Neill delivers an adrenaline-laced memoir of his clandestine efforts to bring down Robert Hanssen, FBI agent and double-agent Russian spy. His assignment: go undercover as one of Hanssen's FBI reports in order to better gather evidence of his wrongdoing. O'Neill gives a nearly day-by-day account of his investigation, from his first uncomfortable interaction with his target in January 2001 to Hanssen's downfall several weeks later. He is best at relating the tactical ins and outs of undercover work, like committing every interaction with Hanssen in detailed notes to his superiors and the highly choreographed efforts used to obtain crucial pieces of evidence (for example, a superior's surprise offer to take Hanssen to the shooting range, for which O'Neill had to ensure Hanssen was sitting down, so he'd leave his phone behind). These moments are as compulsively readable as any thriller. O'Neill has a knack for ratcheting up tension so that foregone historical conclusions, such as Hanssen's capture, feel like white-knuckle cliffhangers. The prose occasionally veers into potboiler territory ("This would be the first lie I ever told her. It would also be far from the last"), but the book largely succeeds in its efforts to create a tightly wound narrative around a remarkable investigation into a Russian asset. O'Neill's page-turner deglamorizes undercover work while conveying the uncertainty, stress, and excitement that accompany a successful investigation.
Customer Reviews
Must read if you like a thriller
Might be the best book I’ve ever read.
10/10
I loved this book. I have followed this story since it came out in the news. It is expertly written and easy to follow. It coordinates well with the movie Breach. I highly recommend this book to anyone who reads true crime/cybercrime/spy genres
Real Life Thriller!
Finished in a weekend. This book is exceptionally written and is amazing because it is a true story. I also feel that after reading it, I am safer from cyber attacks :)