Skip to content
Search

Latest Stories

cipherbrief

Welcome! Log in to stay connected and make the most of your experience.

Input clean

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
Open Source Report logo

The Open Source Report

U.S. President Donald Trump (2R) is welcomed by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu (L) at Ben Gurion International Airport on October 13, 2025 in Tel Aviv, Israel.

Report for Global Intelligence Monday, October 13, 2025

Trump arrives in Mideast to mark fragile ceasefire deal as Hamas releases all living hostages

U.S. intelligence helps Ukraine target Russian energy infrastructure

Trump says he will urge Putin to end the war or face the U.S. sending Tomahawks to Ukraine

U.S. chip sector braces for rare earths supply chain disruptions with new Chinese export rules

Access Today’s Report

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
View More ›

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

Forget Guerrillas and IEDs - The Next Asymmetric War Will Be Engineered

Dr. Dave Venable

Forget Guerrillas and IEDs - The Next Asymmetric War Will Be Engineered

OPINION — For most of modern history, asymmetric conflict conjured a familiar image: guerrillas in the hills, insurgents planting roadside bombs, or [...] More

Tech/CyberAlternative Perspectives

What’s on The Cipher Brief’s Digital Channel

Tapping a China Vibe in South Koreaplay icon

Tapping a China Vibe in South Korea

The Open Source Report

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

dead dropdead drop

The Best National Security Gossip

LIKE CLOCKWORK: It seems like every time there’s a patriotic holiday, a uniformed service anniversary or a military milestone, there seems to be an explosion of congratulatory messages from well-meaning organizations mistakenly featuring images of foreign hardware and personnel meant to portray American versions of the same. We live for this. In the latest installment, journalist Dave Brown posted on X a shot of the Navy UDT-SEAM Museum celebrating the U.S. Navy’s 250th birthday – but deployed an image of a Russian missile cruiser proudly sailing before Old Glory. This goof earns our SEAL of disapproval (see what we did [...] More

Get The Drop

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.