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

Tracing the Evolution of Russian Hybrid Warfare

Moscow is following a 'Gray War doctrine' that has seemingly served it well since Russia's invasion of Crimea in 2014

Tracing the Evolution of Russian Hybrid Warfare

KREMLIN FILES/ANALYSIS: Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022 did not emerge from a strategic vacuum. It was the culmination of [...] More

EuropeUkraine
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The Open Source Report

<span>Global Intelligence Report for Monday, February 23, 2026</span>

Global Intelligence Report for Monday, February 23, 2026

U.S. task force played role in killing of Mexican drug lord "El Mencho"

Zelensky Warns Putin Has “Already Started World War Three”

Trump Considers Targeted Strike Against Iran, Followed by Larger Attack

US says Chinese explosive test reveals push for a completely new nuclear arsenal

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Expert Insights

Cipher Brief Experts bring context to today’s global events

Alliances, Ukraine, and China’s Growing Challenge

Evelyn Farkas

EXPERT Q&A — Evelyn Farkas has spent decades working at the center of U.S. national security and transatlantic defense policy. A former Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for Russia, Ukraine, and Eurasia, she now [...] More

UkraineEuropeExpert View

Defending the Homeland: Pentagon Shifts Strategy on Drone Threats

Walter Pincus

OPINION — “This memorandum consolidates approximately ten separate outdated memoranda that were inadequate to address the current, complex unmanned aircraft system (UAS) threat environment. The new guidance affects a [...] More

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News & Analysis

Washington’s Venezuelan Gamble: The Old Guard’s Continued Grip on Power

Washington’s Venezuelan Gamble: The Old Guard’s Continued Grip on Power

DEEP DIVE — More than six weeks after United States special forces extracted Nicolás Maduro from Caracas, Venezuela remains under the control of the [...] More

AmericasNorth America

Opinion

EU Takes Aim at Tehran: IRGC Terror Listing Opens New Front in Europe’s Iran Policy

Michael Jacobson

EU Takes Aim at Tehran: IRGC Terror Listing Opens New Front in Europe’s Iran Policy

OPINION — On January 29, Europe found its voice against Iran’s apparatus of terror. The European Union (EU) announced that it is adding Iran’s [...] More

Middle EastEuropeAlternative Perspectives

What’s on The Cipher Brief’s Digital Channel

Book Reviews

The Gray Man’s Back—And the Body Count’s Rising
The Gray Man’s Back—And the Body Count’s Rising

Putin’s Long Shadow Over Post-Soviet Russia
Putin’s Long Shadow Over Post-Soviet Russia

The Architects of CIA Analysis
The Architects of CIA Analysis

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The Best National Security Gossip

WHAT WOULD PETRAEUS SAY? — More than 195K people (and counting) have now watched The Cipher Brief’s YouTube interview with former CIA Director General David Petraeus (Ret.). We caught up with the general in Munich earlier this month at the Munich Security Conference, just after he stepped off the train from Ukraine, (where he’s traveled some nine times since Russia’s full-scale invasion). In our very popular conversation, Gen. Petraeus offered new insights into Ukraine’s drone program, with an eye toward both the innovation that continues to happen in the battlespace (particularly in the no man’s land along the border) as [...] More

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Events

Live Events

The Cipher Brief 2026 HONORS Awards

The Cipher Brief 2026 HONORS Awards

Join us for the third annual Cipher Brief Honors Dinner, the evening of March 13, 2026. This Black-Tie event is invite only, please apply here for a [...] More

Upcoming: 13 March, 2026

Podcasts

State Secrets



Former CIA Chiefs of Station Ralph Goff and Glenn Corn have spent a lot of time on the ground in Ukraine. In this State Secrets podcast episode, they share details on what they’re seeing there now that isn’t making the headlines. Get the raw reporting with Goff and Corn in this special edition of the State Secrets Podcast.

Cover Stories: Spies, Books & Entertainment


David McCloskey, former CIA Analyst turned novelist is out with his fourth book, The Persian, about an Iranian dentist who is recruited by Mossad to take on a dangerous mission inside Iran. Cover Stories Host Suzanne Kelly digs in on how McCloskey’s real-life Intelligence background fueled his latest novel, and discovers a few of McCloskey’s own secrets along the way.