The Cipher Brief

The Bear and the Dragon: The Threat of Sino-Russian Opportunism and Intelligence Miscalculation

Russia and China don’t need a secret war plan to overwhelm U.S. strategy — they may only need to reach the same dangerous conclusion at the same time.

KREMLIN FILES/COLUMN: As Washington's attention continues to be diverted with an Iran unwilling to come to a comprehensive peace, a more dangerous [...] More

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From Socialist Surge to Regional Realignment- Latin America’s Pink Tide Is Receding

Latin America’s Pink Tide Recedes as Economic Reality Fractures Socialist AllianceLatin America’s leftist front is hitting a wall. The momentum that [...] More

Man in a fur hat speaks at a podium with microphones, North Korean flag in the background.

That Other Nuclear Nightmare: North Korea Sounds New Alarms

DEEP DIVE – As the U.S. grapples with the still-unsolved problem of Iran’s nuclear program, another American adversary is expanding its nuclear [...] More

Woman speaking at podium with Mexican seal, flag, and artwork in background.

CIA Deaths Expose Fragile U.S.-Mexico Security Ties

Around two o’clock in the morning of April 19, an SUV veered off a twisting dirt road in a remote corner of the Sierra Madre, plunged into a ravine [...] More

The Pakistani General Running Washington’s Backchannel to Tehran

The Pakistani General Running Washington’s Backchannel to Tehran

OPINION -- As Washington and Tehran edge closer to escalation, the most critical line of communication keeping the crisis from spiraling is being run [...] More

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THE FAMILY BUSINESS: The CIA director flew to Havana a free days ago to deliver a message from President Trump - and found the Castro dynasty still very much in the room. John Ratcliffe met with Raúl Guillermo Rodríguez Castro, grandson of former Cuban leader Raúl Castro, a one-time presidential bodyguard, and former head of Cuba's equivalent of the Secret Service, along with Cuba's interior minister and the head of Cuban intelligence. Rodríguez Castro has never held a formal government post. Ratcliffe reportedly urged the Cubans to take the January operation that ousted Nicolás Maduro in Venezuela as a lesson. The Cuban [...] More

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State Secrets

Former Australian Signals Directorate Director-General Rachel Noble joins State Secrets with Suzanne Kelly for a rare insider’s look at the cyber battles shaping modern national security. From China’s targeting of critical infrastructure to Russia, Iran, AI-enabled threats, offensive cyber operations and the power of the Five Eyes alliance, Noble explains why the next conflict may already be underway - inside our networks.

In this episode:

Why the Australian Signals Directorate is one of the Five Eyes’ most important cyber and intelligence partners
How China is pre-positioning inside critical infrastructure and telecommunications networks
Why cyber criminals and state-backed actors are increasingly blurring together
What Russia, Iran and China are teaching the world about cyber conflict
How AI is accelerating both cyber defense and cyber offense
Why private sector companies may now be the first line of defense in modern conflict
What citizens can do to strengthen national cyber resilience
Why intelligence agencies need to better explain their mission to the public

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