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

The Open Source Report

Report for Wednesday, November 13, 2024 

U.S. decides not to cut military aid to Israel 

Trump taps Fox News host Pete Hegseth as Defense secretary 

US opening missile base in Poland 

U.S. military attacks Iran-backed militia facility in Syria 

China carries out sea and air patrol around contested shoal

Access the Report

How Trump’s Win Alters the Landscape in the Middle East

Trump says he will end the wars in the Middle East. He also says he will give Israel a free hand. Something will have to give.

DEEP DIVE — The Middle East has changed dramatically since President Donald Trump left office in 2021. An always-tense part of the world has seen an […] More

The Experts

Cipher Brief Experts bring context to today’s global events

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Featured Viewing

CIA Director Gets Candid About Today’s Global Challenges | The Cipher Brief


Opinion

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NSA Director: US Investigating China Telecom Cyberattacks | The Cipher Brief

OCTOBER 7: ONE YEAR LATER | THE WORLD DECIPHERED Ep. 9

INTERPOL Director of Cybercrime talks AI, Scams, and International Collaboration | The Cipher Brief


Book Reviews

Dead Drop

This Week’s Dead Drop: November 8

WHAT WOULD THE EXPERTS SAY:  Just after the U.S. presidential election, there was much speculation about how the next Trump administration will impact U.S. national security.We know from his last four years in office that Trump is likely to be tough on China but we’re still a little weirded out over the whole public ‘bro love’ thing with Russian President Vladimir Putin (which could be kinda troublesome).  A former Russia expert from the CIA who spent a lot of time on the Putin problem told The Cipher Brief that “It [...] More

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Podcasts

State Secrets

Silicon Valley Entrepreneur and author Steve Blank thinks way outside the Washington DC beltway. The Stanford Professor who teaches courses on lean start-ups, innovation and the art of entrepreneurship – also blogs regularly. It may not be a state secrets that one of his blogs published earlier this year about why large organizations struggle with disruption – and what to do about it – was a not-so-veiled reference to the pentagon. State Secrets host Suzanne Kelly sits down with Blank to talk about it.

Cover Stories: Spies, Books & Entertainment

Description: Admiral Jim Stavridis (Ret.) is out with his fourteenth book, The Restless Wave - a tale of historical fiction taking place during World War II. Cover Stories co-host Suzanne Kelly caught up with the retired Admiral for a Cipher Brief Book Club virtual meeting to talk about just how much of ‘himself’ was written into his main character – about what inspired his writing and then, she couldn’t help but ask about those love scenes.


What the Experts Say

The Cipher Brief’s Open Source Report is an extraordinary product and an important daily read for situational awareness on national security issues.
General John R. Allen (Ret.)

Since retiring from CIA in 2017, I’ve been honored to be a part of the exceptional Cipher Brief team providing expert assessment – whether it’s nuclear proliferation, transnational terrorism, and climate change or hard targets like Iran, North Korea, China, and Russia – The Cipher Brief delivers without the predisposed ideological bias so often prevalent in today’s discourse.

Daniel Hoffman

The Cipher Brief means intelligence for business. And business has never needed a clear global picture more than now. I’ve been doing this for nearly fifty years and I have never seen the globe more complicated nor the effects of distant events more immediately felt. Seasoned intelligence professionals speak freely and candidly every day on The Cipher Brief and bring their intellect, their experience and their global networks to bear on what will be tomorrow’s news.

General Michael Hayden

I’m proud to be part of the network of experts at The Cipher Brief, which provides superb geopolitical advice and intelligence insights.

Admiral James Stavridis

The Cipher Brief has quickly established itself as a go-to site among Washington national security devotees – and those outside the capital as well. Readers have learned that they can quickly catch up on the latest news, take deeper dives into the key issues, and get a peek behind the curtain with Cipher’s unique Dead Drop feature – all on one user friendly spot.

John McLaughlin

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