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

Remembering the Americans Who Made Ukraine’s War Their Own

There is no official count of how many Americans have died helping to defend Ukraine but the community feels every death just the same

Remembering the Americans Who Made Ukraine’s War Their Own

This Memorial Day, The Cipher Brief is remembering the Americans who answered the call after Russia launched its unprovoked, deadly invasion of [...] More

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The Open Source Report

DONGDUCHEON, SOUTH KOREA - MAY 01: U.S. soldiers participate in the 2nd Infantry Division Best Squad competitions at Camp Casey on May 01, 2024 in Dongducheon, South Korea. U.S. Army, the 2nd Infantry Division holds a 'Best Squad Competition' where soldiers compete in a variety of events testing them both physically and mentally. (Photo by Chung Sung-Jun/Getty Images)

Global Intelligence Report for Friday, May 22, 2026

U.S. intelligence community analyzing how Cuba might respond to military action

Trump says he will deploy 5,000 troops to Poland, catching Pentagon, NATO allies off guard

New Pentagon task force races to bring powerful AI tools to America’s most sensitive networks

U.S. bears brunt of Israel’s missile defense, DOD assessments show

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Expert Insights

Cipher Brief Experts bring context to today’s global events

Opinion

A Tale of Two Straits: Sweden and Denmark are in a Position of Power Over Russia

Joey Gagnard
Nils Alstad

Two straits, six thousand kilometers apart, are defining the global balance of power in 2026. The first, Hormuz, is closed by force and heavily impacting the world economy. The second, the Øresund, is open, and through it [...] More

Opinion

Rethinking the Intelligence Cycle for the AI Era

Geof Kahn

There’s a profound assumption embedded in much of today’s conversation about AI and intelligence: better technology will solve our core problems. We need new infrastructure, better models, and faster processing—all tied [...] More

News & Analysis

The G-2: Takeaways from Trump's Trip to Beijing

The G-2: Takeaways from Trump's Trip to Beijing

By most accounts, President Donald Trump’s trip to Beijing ended ambiguously for the U.S. From Air Force One on his way back to the U.S., Trump [...] More

Opinion

DHS Has Become Central to American Strategy, But Its Strategy Has Not Caught Up

A generation after 9/11, the homeland has returned to the center of American national security strategy. The 2025 National Security Strategy, the [...] More

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Book Reviews

CHIPS ARE DOWN AS U.S. SPY AGENCIES ARE HUNGRY FOR MORE: America’s intelligence agencies are reportedly struggling to run cutting-edge AI tools because they can’t get enough advanced chips to power them, a shortage the White House reportedly addressed last week by approving a classified $9 billion request for new computing infrastructure, according to The New York Times. In the meantime, the NSA has reportedly been authorized to continue using an AI model made by Anthropic, a company the Pentagon has officially designated a ‘supply chain risk.’ A classified contract is reportedly being finalized - interestingly, it’s a [...] 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

Podcasts

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

Become a Cipher Brief Subscriber+ for deeper national security insight from the experts shaping the conversation.