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

The Kremlin Files: Russian Double Agents and Operational Games

Understanding Russia’s operational games: the tradecraft that defines how the Kremlin spies and lies

The Kremlin Files: Russian Double Agents and Operational Games

THE KREMLIN FILES / COLUMN — There are similarities among intelligence agencies worldwide. All professional services rely on tradecraft to recruit [...] More

RussiaEuropeIntelligence
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The Open Source Report

<span>Global Intelligence Report for Wednesday, February 4, 2026</span>

Global Intelligence Report for Wednesday, February 4, 2026

Defense Department launches low-cost attack drone program

U.S. fighter jet shoots down Iranian drone near aircraft carrier

The U.S. wants these critical minerals, but militants with American weapons stand in the way

Russian spy spacecraft have intercepted Europe’s key satellites, officials believe


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Expert Insights

Cipher Brief Experts bring context to today’s global events

Inside the $35 Billion Plan to Track Hypersonic Missiles from Space

Walter Pincus

OPINION — “The Department of Defense’s Space Development Agency (SDA) is developing a new space-based architecture comprised of a large constellation of at least 300-500 satellites in low Earth orbit (LEO) to detect and [...] More

Walter PincusFine Print

Greenland’s Worth a Fight and Russia’s Trying to Start One

Emma Overell
Rear Adm. (Ret.) Mark Montgomery

EXPERT PERSPECTIVE — The “quickest way for Russia to penetrate our naval defenses is steaming from the Arctic to the North Atlantic.” The Greenland-Iceland-United Kingdom (GIUK) Gap is the last place allied forces “have [...] More

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News & Analysis

Export Controls Backfire: The China Innovation Paradox

Export Controls Backfire: The China Innovation Paradox

DEEP DIVE — When the Biden administration rolled out its semiconductor export restrictions in October 2022, the logic seemed airtight: cut off [...] More

ChinaAsia

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

Tapping a China Vibe in South Koreaplay icon

Tapping a China Vibe in South Korea

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Book Reviews

The Architects of CIA Analysis
The Architects of CIA Analysis

A Field Guide to Surviving Trauma
A Field Guide to Surviving Trauma

Kilowatt of Wrath: Revenge and Assassinations via Secret Cooperation
Kilowatt of Wrath: Revenge and Assassinations via Secret Cooperation

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The Best National Security Gossip

OUTLANDISH SUPER BOWL PREDICTIONS: Seattle is a 4.5-point favorite in this Sunday’s Super Bowl. You could put a few bucks on the game and if your team wins - maybe cover next month’s streaming subscriptions. Or you could skip the sports book and head to an event-prediction site like Polymarket, where the real action is geopolitical. When we checked the site on Wednesday morning one betting option was whether the U.S. will strike Iran by February 13. A “yes” share at the time was trading at about 10 cents. So, what do the headlines say? (This is a great reason - if we say so ourselves - to subscribe to The Cipher Brief’s [...] 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

From cyber vulnerabilities to supply chain risk, Cipher Brief Expert and former National Intelligence Manager for Counterintelligence Sandrea Hwang tells State Secrets Podcast host Suzanne Kelly why modern national security threats are no longer distant or abstract and why protecting data, infrastructure, and innovation now requires whole-of-society cooperation.

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.