I Was Never Here: My True Canadian Spy Story of Coffees, Code Names, and Covert Operations in the Age of Terrorism with Andrew Kirsch (Episode 13)

While people have the image of a spy as someone who conducts operations in a clandestine manner under the cover of secrecy, the reality is much more nuanced.In this episode of Books in 5, the author of "I Was Never Here: My True Canadian Spy Story in the Age of Terrorism" joins us to detail his experience as a CSIS operative, the importance of connecting with the community and the challenges of maintaining a balanced personal life with being a professional employed to lead special operations.With an attention to detail of the finer points of the inner workings of CSIS and a flair for exciting storytelling, I Was Never Here highlights the impact of that good intelligence officers can have as they strive to keep Canada safe.Andrew Kirsch served as an intelligence officer with the Canadian Security Intelligence Service (CSIS) for just under a decade. He held roles as a policy analyst and a field investigator, ultimately leading the special operations security team running covert warranted operations. Today, Kirsch runs a security consulting firm, assisting organizations and individuals identify threats and vulnerabilities and implement strategies to mitigate their risk. He was appointed to the Ontario Expert Panel on Cyber Security in 2020, advising the government on strengthening cyber security practices in the broader public sector. He is a public speaker and trainer on issues of national and cyber security. He lives in Toronto with his wife and two young sons.https://kirschgroup.com/https://kirschgroup.com/book/x:‪@AS_Kirsch‬ https://x.com/as_kirsch?lang=en