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

The Open Source Report

Report for Tuesday, May 20, 2025

F.B.I. Closes Unit That Policed Compliance with Surveillance Rules

Trump touts Russia-Ukraine talks, even as he steps back

Europeans to escalate sanctions on Russia, Germany says

Netanyahu Says Israel Will Take Over Gaza as It Allows Food into Enclave

Members of Congress vow not to split Cyber Command, NSA

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The Experts

Cipher Brief Experts bring context to today’s global events

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Featured Viewing

Amb. Dennis Ross on Trump’s Mideast Swing


Opinion

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Understanding the “Golden Dome”

India & Pakistan: Too Soon to Cheer

The Pentagon Push to Change an “Antiquated” System


Book Reviews

Dead Drop

This Week’s Dead Drop: May 16

CHANGE IS IN THE AIR: On Tuesday, Fox News was the first to report that Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard removed the top two officials from the National Intelligence Council. There was no official explanation, which of course creates lots of space for rumors.  One of those rumors was that the DNI believes the acting Chairman of the NIC, Mike Collins, and his deputy, Maria Langan-Riekhof were working to undermine the Trump administration. While we’ve seen zero proof of that, some media organizations speculated that recent reports that the NIC had reaffirmed an intelligence [...] More

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Podcasts

State Secrets

CIA veteran Sheetal Patel helped stand up and then lead the spy agency’s Transnational and Technology Mission Center in 2022, at a time when there was no longer any denying that more outreach to the private sector and a better grasp of the technologies that were available had to become more of a focus if the Agency was to maintain its strategic advantage. Patel retired earlier this year after a 25-year career at the Agency and State Secrets Podcast host Suzanne Kelly caught up with her to find out how the Agency’s technology mission has evolved.

Cover Stories: Spies, Books & Entertainment

Former CIA Officer Rodney Faraon served in some pretty fascinating roles at CIA – including as a daily briefer to former director George Tenet and as Chief of the unit that dealt with Chinese and Taiwanese relations. Since retiring, he’s kept his analytic hat on as a Partner at Crumpton Global but he also took a turn toward Hollywood and did what many who have come from the Agency – have yet to do – launch a show for television. In this episode of the Cover Stories podcast, Rodney spills the secrets on how he adopted his CIA skills to help him survive in Hollywood.


What the Experts Say

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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

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Admiral James Stavridis

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General John R. Allen (Ret.)

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