![]() The book is not very technical but does infer some past capabilities and strategies. government cyber security and/or spycraft. Overall I recommend this book to people looking for some history in U.S. Eric comically describes agents who don’t know how to use a mouse and the sorry state of technology used even in his new team – the FBI’s information assurance section. For instance, the main personnel system was run on a mainframe and had almost no role based security attached to it allowing any agent to see very important information on FBI agents. The story itself is more about the emotional stress Eric O’Neill endured while trying to help prove Robert Hanssen was a spy, but there were plenty of tid bits that help quantify some of the common complaints about early government information security. Gray Day is an interesting read that helps shed light on the state of information security in the FBI at the turn of the millennium. In his legitimate FBI career, Hanssen promoted information assurance and information sharing between and in government agencies but was mostly ignored as a grump trouble maker. He was able to identify technical ways to gather a lot of information that he would later sell to the Russian government to the great harm of the United States and its agents. Robert Hanssen was a tech saavy FBI agent who started selling secrets to the USSR and later Russian governments early in his career. This story was dramatized in the 2007 movie “Breach”. We are only led to believe that it wasn't the money, but instead the ego that drove his madness.Gray Day is a first hand account by the former FBI agent Eric O’Neill on his direct involvement in capturing the Russian mole Robert Hanssen. ![]() Part spy thriller, part history lesson, part psychoanalysis, "Breach" is very enjoyable despite the fact that we are provided no real answers as to WHY this man acted as he did. This is quite an accomplishment for a film when all the viewers know how it will end!! The real life Hanssen is spending life in prison and O'Neill immediately resigned from the bureau for the "normal" life of a Washington attorney. Despite the weakness, the story is strong enough to overcome this and maintain the quasi-thriller feel. It is just implausible to believe Phillipe could ever pass the FBI entrance exam, much less outsmart the guy who outsmarted the entire bureau for two decades. The weak link in the film is Ryan Phillipe, who just doesn't possess the acting chops to pull off the pivotal role of Eric O'Neill - the agent wannabe who gets thrust into the crucial position of bringing Hanssen down. Caroline Dhavernas is an actress I am not familiar with, but her performance here has me intrigued. Gary Cole plays it straight here, and Kathleen Quinlan (as Hanssen's wife) and Bruce Davison (as Eric O'Neill's dad) have brief but effective turns. Laura Linney is slightly miscast as the agent in charge of bringing Hanssen down. He appears to be just another working stiff pulling in a paycheck. yes, his job was to find himself!! Cooper is very strong here as the ego-maniacal tortured soul who pulls off his deceit with a disarming devotion to religion, the bureau and blending. In an almost unbelievable stroke of luck, Hanssen was put in charge of finding the mole. Perfect casting has Chris Cooper as the very odd Hanssen who has nearly 25 years with the bureau, many of which have been spent selling off national secrets to the Soviet Union. Normally we only get these type of scenarios in LeCarre novels, but the story of FBI agent Robert Hanssen is a real life nightmare. ![]() a federal agent who sells out his own country. Here he takes on one of our biggest fears. Writer/Director Billy Ray was the creative force behind "Shattered Glass" a few years ago and obviously is drawn to true stories of human deception.
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