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

We've Seen Autonomous Warfare and We're in Trouble

An argument for why America must rethink everything to remain competitive

We've Seen Autonomous Warfare and We're in Trouble

Editor’s note- Russia's war in Ukraine has fundamentally changed the character of warfare, proving that autonomous and attritable drones are no [...] More

Tech/Cyber Xen
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The Open Source Report

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Today's Global Intel

Gulf States Pressed Trump to Hold Off on Iran Strikes and Pursue Talks

Scope of Hacks on U.S. Water Supply Widens as Evidence Points to Iran

Ukrainian drones kill eight in Russia and strike Wildberries warehouse, governors say

EU force boards Russian shadow fleet tanker in Mediterranean Sea


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Expert Insights

Cipher Brief Experts bring context to today’s global events

Opinion

Investing in the Next Arsenal of Democracy

Hamlet Yousef

America’s critical technology, maritime, infrastructure, and advanced manufacturing base is one of the clearest places where tax incentives, private capital, and national security should meet. We already know this model [...] More

Opinion

America Needs a New North Korea Strategy

Ambassador Joseph DeTrani

North Korea is strategically closer to Russia and China than any time since the Korean War, while the U.S. does nothing to challenge the growing power of the Axis of Authoritarians (China, Russia, Iran, and North Korea). [...] More

Ambassador Joseph DeTrani
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News & Analysis

TOPSHOT-RUSSIA-UKRAINE-CONFLICT-WAGNER

The Continued Myth of Russia’s Imminent Collapse: Lessons from Prigozhin’s Mutiny Three Years On

KREMLIN FILES/COLUMN: Three years ago, in June 2023, the Kremlin confronted one of the most dramatic internal crises of Vladimir Putin's [...] More

Opinion

AI Summaries Are Susceptible to Manipulation — and That's Both a Business and a National Security Problem

Candice Bryant

AI Summaries Are Susceptible to Manipulation — and That's Both a Business and a National Security Problem

More and more people are using AI like a search engine – 42 percent of U.S. adults now use AI chatbots to search for information – and that shift is [...] More

Alternative Perspectives

What’s on The Cipher Brief’s Digital Channel

Book Reviews

A Symptom and Instrument of Foreign Power
A Symptom and Instrument of Foreign Power

When Doomsday Prose Overplays Its Hand
When Doomsday Prose Overplays Its Hand

Five Moles, One DOJ Lawyer
Five Moles, One DOJ Lawyer

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The Best National Security Gossip

SPY AGENCY START UPS: NOW A GROWTH INDUSTRY: Japan launched a new centralized intelligence body on Friday for the first time since World War II, with the National Intelligence Bureau replacing structures long criticized as disjointed and ineffective. According to Nikkei Asia, supporters say the NIB is meant to lay groundwork for an eventual anti-spy law and a full external foreign intelligence service along the lines of the CIA or MI6. Tokyo has reportedly been shopping for advice from the U.S., Australia, and Germany. Sweden, meanwhile, is building its own MI6 knockoff after concluding its military intelligence service [...] More

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Events

Live Events

2026 Threat Conference

2026 Threat Conference

The Cipher Brief Threat Conference is the nation’s premier forum for non-partisan discussion of global threats and solutions as well as high-level [...] More

Upcoming: 25 October, 2026

The Cipher Brief 2027 HONORS Awards

The Cipher Brief 2027 HONORS Awards

Join us for the third annual Cipher Brief Honors Dinner, the evening of April 9, 2027. This Black-Tie event is invite-only. Please apply here for a [...] More

Upcoming: 09 April, 2027

Podcasts

State Secrets

Recorded on location in Kyiv, Rear Admiral (Ret.) Mark Montgomery joins Suzanne Kelly for a timely State Secrets conversation on how Ukraine is reshaping the future of warfare.

Editor's Note: We caught up with Rear Admiral (Ret.) Mark Montgomery in Kyiv just as President Zelensky announced the firing of former Defense Minister Mykhailo Fedorov, prompting a wave of protests. Since this interview was recorded, additional developments - including changes in Ukraine's military leadership - have overtaken parts of that discussion. The strategic insights on Ukraine's battlefield innovation, however, remain as relevant as ever.

From Ukraine's increasingly effective long-range drone campaign against Russia's military infrastructure to the growing strain on Kyiv's air defenses, Montgomery explains why this war is becoming the world's most important laboratory for military innovation. He also shares firsthand observations from his latest trip to Ukraine - including conversations with commanders on the front lines - and discusses what the U.S., NATO, and Taiwan should be learning before the next major conflict.