The departure of NVIDIA CEO Jensen Huang has made a risk that is rarely discussed publicly clear: for a CEO, a new business contact, or even a budding romantic relationship, may come from someone who is more concerned about the company's secrets.
Former FBI counterintelligence agent Eric O'Neill ( Eric O ’ Neill ) told Fortune: "Sometimes, the easiest way to infiltrate a billion-dollar company is to get close to the people who run it."
In O'Neill's view, protecting executives should include teaching them to recognize manipulative behavior and providing a way for others to intervene when the boss is unwilling to listen to opinions.
Jensen Huang resigned from his positions as President, CEO, and Board Member of NVIDIA on Thursday. NVIDIA ranked 16th on the 2026 Fortune 500 list. This move comes at a time when his relationship with a woman suspected of engaging in espionage for China is under scrutiny. The company has appointed Chief Financial Officer Colette Kress ( Colette Kress ) as interim CEO, and the Board of Directors is in the process of finding a permanent successor.
Jensen Huang admitted his infidelity to his wife in a message to employees on Sunday and stated that he would cooperate with the board of directors' investigation. The New York Times reported that U.S. intelligence officials believe Alice Huang, who once served as a senior executive at the Singapore-based company Megaspeed, has been recruited by Chinese intelligence agencies. The Chinese government has denied these allegations.
NVIDIA's board of directors stated on Sunday that there is no reason to believe that company secrets or national security have been compromised, but an independent investigation led by a committee of independent directors will review all available information. Since Jensen Huang admitted to the relevant circumstances, the company's market value has evaporated by approximately $450 billion.
How Trust Turns into a Security Risk
O'Neill was involved in helping to capture the spy Robert Hansen (Robert Hanssen), who was working under cover. He founded NeXasure AI and wrote " Spies, Lies, and, Cybercrime". He stated that intelligence collection operations often seem like ordinary relationships at the beginning.
He said that the approach usually doesn't start with demands for executives to hand over company secrets. It may begin with a meeting, a business introduction, a drinking party, or even through dating apps. The operatives look for common ground, build trust, and make the executives feel important.
Romantic relationships can accelerate this process. Using romance or sexual attraction to obtain information, opportunities for contact, or leverage is known as a "honeypot trap" ( honey trapping ), a tactic that predates the advent of dating apps by a long time.
O'Neill said that warning signs can be quite subtle: rapid advancement in relationships, persistent questioning of sensitive business matters, requests to meet with influential colleagues, or encouragement to keep secrets. The purpose may be to obtain information, influence business decisions, or to gather leverage that could be used for extortion in the future.
When the person being scrutinized is someone in whom senior executives have trust, these signals become even more difficult to identify.
"By the time security professionals express their concerns, executives may have already invested emotionally and be unwilling to listen," O'Neill said.
CEO holds information that others desire, ranging from intellectual property and strategic plans to government relations. O'Neill believes that their security training should teach them how others might use personal connections to access these assets.
Peter Womka (Peter Warmka) was once a senior intelligence officer at CIA; today, he provides training for executives through his Counterintelligence Institute. He told Fortune that his courses cover who might target a company, what they want, and how they approach employees and contractors. He stated that senior management becomes the main target due to their access to more information, but their attitude towards security can also expose them to risks.
"Unfortunately, they are also considered more vulnerable, as many believe that not all security measures applied to lower-level employees are equally applicable to them," said Womka.
Many of his trainings focus on overseas travel, including the risks of electronic eavesdropping in hotel rooms and during travel to conferences, intelligence collection targeting their devices, as well as interpreters who may be working for intelligence agencies.
Even with these preparations, it can still be very difficult to identify information extraction behaviors. "Trained operatives know how to extract information without arousing suspicion," says Vomka.
How does the board of directors intervene when CEO is unwilling to listen?
When CEO takes warnings lightly, it becomes necessary for others to find a way to take action.
O'Neill stated that the Chief Security Officer, General Counsel, and Chief Information Security Officer should have a confidential channel to directly communicate with independent directors. If CEO does not cooperate, the board of directors may hire external lawyers and investigators to assess the credible threat and recommend protective measures. When necessary, the company should contact federal authorities.
O'Neill emphasized that a simple romantic relationship does not prove the existence of espionage activities. Any investigation should be objective and low-profile, striking a balance between the privacy of senior executives and company security. This requires individuals outside of that relationship to assess the risks.
"Regardless of wealth, reputation, or talent, no executive should be the ultimate arbiter of investigation threats, especially when that executive may already be involved," O'Neill said.
