Skip to content
Search

Latest Stories

Welcome! Log in to stay connected and make the most of your experience.

Input clean

The Cipher Brief: National Security news, analysis and expert commentary.

Report for Friday, July 11, 2025

State Department to launch mass layoffs soon

Trump says ‘major statement’ on Russia to come on Monday

Hunting Down Russian Spies With Norway’s Intelligence Service

Some of Iran’s Enriched Uranium Survived Attacks, Israeli Official Says

Xi-Trump meeting likely, Rubio says after ‘constructive’ talks with Wang Yi at ASEAN

Access the Report

Getting Inside the Mind of Xi Jinping

Former Senior CIA Officer Shares Insights on China's Ambitions

Getting Inside the Mind of Xi Jinping
CIPHER BRIEF EXPERT INTERVIEW -- Taiwan launched its largest annual military exercise to date this week, amid growing concern that China is on the [...] More

The Experts

Cipher Brief Experts bring context to today’s global events

How Trump Can Be the Winning President in Ukraine

Rob Dannenberg

“To each there comes in their lifetime a special moment when they are figuratively tapped on the shoulder and offered the chance to do a very special [...] More

As Nukes Spread, Robust Missile Defenses Must Rise

Ambassador Joseph DeTrani

OPINION — More countries aspire to be nuclear-weapons states, and we should prepare for this eventuality. That’s why the Golden Dome missile defense [...] More

News & Analysis

As Taiwan Launches Military Drills, a Pressing Question for Washington

As Taiwan Launches Military Drills, a Pressing Question for Washington

TAIPEI, TAIWAN —Taiwan’s annual military exercise launching this week, will be its largest ever, mobilizing more than 22,000 reservists in response [...] More

Opinion

U.S. Cyber Defense Starts with Defining Standards and Driving Collaboration

OPINION — President Donald J. Trump has returned to office with the renewed revelations that Chinese government-affiliated hackers continue to [...] More

What’s on The Cipher Brief’s Digital Channel

The Problem with Iran’s Proxies

Interview with Glenn Corn, Former Senior CIA Officer

Lessons from Israel’s Stunning Intelligence Operation

Interview with Beth Sanner, Former Deputy Director for National Intelligence, ODNI

When it Comes to Iran, “We Have Plans”

Interview with General Frank McKenzie (Ret.), Former Commander, U.S. Central Command

Iran’s Next Move

Interview with Norm Roule, Middle East Expert, Former National Intelligence Manager for Iran, ODNI

Book Reviews

IN THIS WEEK'S EDITION: (Yet) another Russian leader who falls out with Putin, has a really bad week; Reports emerge about Iran's low-budget espionage program in Israel; One of the best (or at least funniest) spy shows is sneaking back into the fall lineup; and how does your hero's garden grow?WERE HIS WINDOWS STUCK? Various media accounts say that former Russian Transport Minister Roman Starovoit was found dead on Monday just hours after Vladimir Putin fired him for no specific reason other than “lack of trust.” Official Russian sources said that Starovoit was found dead in a Moscow suburb and the “main theory is [...] More

Get The Drop

Events

Live Events

Doing Battle in the Gray Zone

Doing Battle in the Gray Zone

Subscriber+Members are invited to join us on Wednesday, July 23 at 1:00p ET for an exclusive virtual conversation on gray zone operations led by [...] More

Upcoming: 23 July, 2025

Podcasts

State Secrets



Taiwan has launched its largest annual military exercise ever - amid growing concern that China is on the cusp of launching a military invasion. Many national security experts see a Chinese invasion as inevitable. A recent piece published at the cipher brief.com focuses on what Washington will do when it does happen. But first, it’s the Intelligence Community that is on the front lines - charged with gathering as much information as possible about Xi Jinping’s intent. This week, State Secrets is talking with Susan Miller, who retired just a few months ago from CIA, where she served as the Assistant Director for the Agency’s China Mission Center. The Center was established in October of 2021, to better address the national security challenges posed by the People’s Republic of China.

Cover Stories: Spies, Books & Entertainment


In October1979, the most powerful cyclone in recorded history, raced across the Pacific and set in motion circumstances that caused a horrendous fire at a U.S. Marine Corps facility at the foot of Japan’s Mount Fuji. Thirteen Marines died of their burns and more than 70 other people were seriously injured. And yet few people today know of or remember these events. Chas Henry who served twenty years as a Marine and went on to have a highly successful career as a broadcast journalist – is out with a new book called Fuji Fire: Sifting Ashes of a Forgotten U.S. Marine Corps Tragedy.  We will talk with him about his four-year-long effort to investigate the tragedy and what he learned about the chaos of the mass casualty event and the courage of those who fought the fire and battled their injuries during the long recovery process. We will ask him why a disaster of such magnitude is so little remembered and why official investigations into the fire appear to have been so limited.