The Cipher Brief

Endless Warfare – Part II: Countering Endless Warfare and its Networks

Winning tomorrow’s conflicts means countering the persistent networks, cognitive warfare, and gray-zone strategies already targeting America today.

U.S. Military Launches Operation Epic Fury Attacking Iran

Author’s Note: This article is not about ‘endless wars’ as a critique of U.S. military interventions — that debate belongs elsewhere. It examines a [...] More

The Open Source Report

Expert Insights

Cipher Brief Experts bring context to today’s global events

If You Can Run a Spy, You Can Run AI

If You Can Run a Spy, You Can Run AI

Generative AI should be managed like a human source: useful, fast, sometimes brilliant, sometimes wrong, and never a substitute for disciplined [...] More

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NIC OF TIME? The National Intelligence Council, the intelligence community’s traditional home for big-picture analysis, may need a new crystal ball. Politico reports that NIC Chair Andrew Byers quietly departed last week, just days after acting DNI Bill Pulte reportedly showed nearly two dozen NIC staffers the door. The move follows the ouster of senior ODNI official Will Ruger and marks another turbulent chapter for an organization intended to be the intelligence community’s premier analytic shop. Interestingly, not only was Byer’s departure quiet…apparently his arrival was as well. It seems he was sworn in as Deputy [...] More

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State Secrets

The battlefield is changing faster than most governments can adapt.

In this episode of State Secrets, Cipher Brief CEO Suzanne Kelly sits down with retired General Phil Breedlove, former Supreme Allied Commander Europe, to examine how drones, artificial intelligence and autonomous systems are transforming modern warfare—and what that means for U.S. national security.

Drawing on lessons from Ukraine, the Middle East and NATO's eastern flank, General Breedlove explains why drones are only one piece of a much larger revolution in military power. He discusses why America must rethink defense acquisition, how adversaries are exploiting gray zone warfare, why protecting critical infrastructure is becoming increasingly difficult, and why the West can no longer afford to fight tomorrow's wars with yesterday's assumptions.

From the future of air superiority to cyber conflict, autonomous weapons and the growing threat to the homeland, this is a conversation about the wars of the future—and whether the United States is prepared for them.

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