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

High-Stakes Talks in D.C.: Frozen Assets, Air Defense, and Tomahawks

The U.S. faces a pivotal decision on providing Tomahawks to Kyiv - a move that would expand Ukraine’s deep-strike reach

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky is greeted by US President Donald Trump (L) upon arrival at the White House West Wing in Washington, DC, on August 18, 2025.

DEEP DIVE – A senior Ukrainian delegation will travel to Washington D.C. this week for talks that are expected to include the use of frozen Russian [...] More

Brad ChristianEuropeUkraine
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The Open Source Report

Russian President Vladimir Putin holds a meeting via video link with members of the government in Moscow, Russia on April 04, 2024.

Report for Global Intelligence Wednesday, October 15, 2025

Trump Demands Putin Act, Claims Russia Has Lost 1.5 Million

NATO Seeks More Arms for Ukraine as Russian Airspace Intrusions Rise

Trump says Hamas will be forced to disarm or ‘we will disarm them’

US-China Escalation: Rare Earths Controls and New Port Fees Rattle Global Trade

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Expert Insights

Cipher Brief Experts bring context to today’s global events

Inside the Secret War: Senate Concern Over U.S. Military Strikes in the Caribbean

Walter Pincus

OPINION — “Currently, the administration is waging a secret war against a secret list of unnamed groups that they will not tell us about. There have been four lethal strikes against [alleged Venezuelan narco-trafficking] [...] More

AmericasWalter PincusFine Print

The Future of U.S. Intelligence: Leaner, Smarter, and Tech-Focused

Renee Pruneau Novakoff

EXPERT OPINION — It is time to reimagine the US intelligence community (IC). The 1947 National Security Act established the CIA which arguably had the biggest impact on the modern age of U.S. intelligence. Subsequent [...] More

Renee Pruneau NovakoffIntelligence
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News & Analysis

Telecom Bust Near the UN Reveals New National Security Vulnerability

Telecom Bust Near the UN Reveals New National Security Vulnerability

DEEP DIVE — When Secret Service agents swept into an inconspicuous building near the United Nations General Assembly late last month, they weren’t [...] More

Tech/Cyber

Opinion

Afghanistan Is Becoming India and Pakistan’s Proxy Battlefield—Again

Masoud Andarabi

Afghanistan Is Becoming India and Pakistan’s Proxy Battlefield—Again

OPINION — On Oct. 15, 2025, Islamabad and Kabul announced a 48-hour ceasefire after days of shelling and cross-border clashes around Spin [...] More

AfghanistanAlternative PerspectivesAsia

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Tapping a China Vibe in South Koreaplay icon

Tapping a China Vibe in South Korea

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Book Reviews

A Call at 4AM in Israel: Crucial Decisions, Urgent Reading
A Call at 4AM in Israel: Crucial Decisions, Urgent Reading

Checkmate, Comrade: Espionage, Surveillance, and the Quiet Rebellion over the Chess Board
Checkmate, Comrade: Espionage, Surveillance, and the Quiet Rebellion over the Chess Board

A Resounding Reaffirmation of Diplomacy
A Resounding Reaffirmation of Diplomacy

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The Best National Security Gossip

WATCH THIS SPACE: The Pentagon’s new media rules (“don’t report anything unless we tell you in advance it is OK”) seem to be meeting near universal disdain. Just about every responsible journalistic organization (and a few un-responsible ones) have said refused to sign on to the new rules and therefore will have to turn in their Pentagon press passes. Only “One America News” has said it will bow to the new requirements. That got us wondering – with no news outfits holding press passes - what will become of the impressive (and underused) press briefing room in the Pentagon? One America News may be feeling pretty lonely in [...] More

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Events

Live Events

Threat Conference

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: 19 October, 2025

Podcasts

State Secrets



Silicon Valley Entrepreneur, Author and Stanford Professor Steve Blank has published a phone book of sorts for the Pentagon - at least when it comes to the trickier issue of understanding how the Pentagon buys things – which is a crucial component of future U.S. national security. Cipher Brief CEO & Publisher Suzanne Kelly talks to Blank about his new ‘phone book’ for businesses trying to sell into the DoW.

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.