Former KGB Spy / Author / Speaker / Television Analyst 

jack barsky

TOPICS -  • Courage • Cybersecurity • Espionage

• Faith • Motivation • Obstacles • Perseverance

• Personal Development • Resilience

• Success • Technology

jack barsky - PROGRAMS

  • 'Double Trouble', --The story of my life
  • 'Once 'Upon a Spy,' -- History of the KGB, tidbits of my life as a spy, Russia and Putin, and for the right audience a piece on cyber security with the focus on the insider threat
  • 'An Undercover Love Story' -- The role of love in the life of an elite KGB agent
  • 'Espionage, 'Myth and Reality -- Starts with a brief introduction of Jack Barsky the spy, goes on to debunk the myth of the mighty KGB and finishes with a game called 'what is wrong here and why'. -- This is where I show the audience clips from famous spy movies and ask them to guess what is not realistic espionage and spy behavior
  • 'Applied Spychology' Here I share with the audience how the talents I used and the skills I learned during my spy years helped me to be very successful in my corporate career

"My goal with every presentation is to educate and entertain, and deliver something never seen or heard before from a Speaker."

-Jack Barsky

Partial LIst of Jack's Client's to Whom He Has Presented

Cambridge Union, Cambridge England Microsoft Headquarters, Seattle WA
Mensa National Gathering Baltimore MD Smithsonian Institution, Washington DC International Spy Museum, Washington DC Spy Museum Berlin, Berlin Germany Harvard Club, Atlanta GA

Adam Mickiewicz University, Poznan Poland Threatscape Customer Event, Dublin Ireland Georgetown University
FBI Headquarters, Washington DC

FBI Academy, Quantico VA
US State Department, Washington DC Defense Intelligence Agency, Washington DC Citywire Customer Event, Berlin Germany YPO Summit, Miami FL - Keynote
Millenium CIO Summit, West Palm Beach FL HGM CIO Summit, Chicago IL
Doolittle Institute, Niceville, FL
Emory University, Atlanta GA
Georgia Tech University, Atlanta GA University of Miami, Miami FL 

jack barsky - Biography

Jack Barsky was born as Albrecht Dittrich in 1949 in East Germany. He studied at the Friedrich Schiller University, Jena, Germany, and graduated summa cum laude with a master’s degree in chemistry. One year into his employment as assistant professor he was recruited by the KGB, and after five years of training in Berlin and Moscow he was sent to the United States as an undercover illegal agent.

 

Jack pretended to be an American by birth and managed to successfully integrate into American society. After graduating as valedictorian from Baruch College with a bachelor’s degree in Business Administration he embarked on a career in information technology. He spent 10 years working for MetLife as a programmer and technical specialist. Subsequently he started a highly successful career in management working for six different companies in the healthcare, insurance and energy sectors. He started at the ground level as a team lead and ended his career in the executive suite as a Chief Information Officer. 

 

Ten years after his entry into the US Jack severed his ties to the KGB, and nine years thereafter he was discovered and detained by the FBI. Having fully co-operated with US law enforcement, Jack and his family were allowed to stay in the United States. He was awarded US citizenship in 2014. He started as a team lead and made it into the executive suite as a Chief Information Officer.

 

Jack’s life story was featured in May of 2015 on CBS 60 Minutes. He was also featured on Japanese, French, German, Polish , and Turkish TV.  His memoir “Deep Undercover” was released in 2017. It was translated into German, Polish and Swedish. The audio documentary “The Agent”, which is based on Jack’s life, was released in 2021. In 2022 it received a Webby award for best production in its category.

 

Because of Jacks’ expertise in the realms of espionage, communism, the Soviet Union and Russia and their intelligence services he has become a sought-after contributor for cable television stations, such as CNN, MSNBC, CBS, NBC, CNBC, and FOX News. As a public speaker, he has given over 150 presentations about these topics as well as his life story in over half the US states and 6 foreign countries. 

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jack barsky - MEDIA

One decision can end everything . . . or lead to unlikely redemption.
Millions watched the CBS 60 Minutes special on Jack Barsky in 2015. Now, in this fascinating memoir, the Soviet KGB agent tells his story of gut-wrenching choices, appalling betrayals, his turbulent inner world, and the secret life he lived for years without getting caught.

On October 8, 1978, a Canadian national by the name of William Dyson stepped off a plane at O’Hare International Airport and proceeded toward Customs and Immigration.

Two days later, William Dyson ceased to exist.

The identity was a KGB forgery, used to get one of their own―a young, ambitious East German agent―into the United States.

The plan succeeded, and the spy’s new identity was born: Jack Barsky. He would work undercover for the next decade, carrying out secret operations during the Cold War years . . . until a surprising shift in his allegiance challenged everything he thought he believed.

Deep Undercover will reveal the secret life of this man without a country and tell the story no one ever expected him to tell.