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

How Cuba's Infrastructure Crisis Is Opening the Door to Foreign Intelligence Networks

As Cuba’s power grid collapses, Beijing and Moscow are exploiting Havana’s desperation to expand intelligence operations within striking distance of U.S. military installations.

How Cuba's Infrastructure Crisis Is Opening the Door to Foreign Intelligence Networks

DEEP DIVE — On February 13, nighttime light emissions across major Cuban cities had dropped as much as 50 percent compared to historical averages — [...] More

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The Open Source Report

<span>Global Intelligence Report for Thursday, February 19, 2026</span>

Global Intelligence Report for Thursday, February 19, 2026

‘Return to factory settings’: U.S. pressing NATO for major reset

Trump again warns U.K. over Chagos Islands deal with Mauritius

U.S. military buildup signals rising risk of war with Iran as Trump convenes top advisers

Trump talks with Xi on Taiwan arms sales, raising concerns in Taipei


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Expert Insights

Cipher Brief Experts bring context to today’s global events

Defending the Homeland: Pentagon Shifts Strategy on Drone Threats

Walter Pincus

OPINION — “This memorandum consolidates approximately ten separate outdated memoranda that were inadequate to address the current, complex unmanned aircraft system (UAS) threat environment. The new guidance affects a [...] More

Walter PincusFine Print

Media Literacy Isn’t Enough Anymore

Jennifer Ewbank

OPINION — For years, media literacy has been treated as the solution to misinformation. I've advocated that position as well.Teach people to question headlines. Encourage them to check sources. Help them recognize bias [...] More

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News & Analysis

Inside the High-Stakes U.S. Pressure Campaign on Iran

Inside the High-Stakes U.S. Pressure Campaign on Iran

EXPERT INTERVIEW – U.S. officials say a second aircraft carrier will be deployed to the Middle East amid the administration’s efforts to pressure [...] More

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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

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Book Reviews

The Gray Man’s Back—And the Body Count’s Rising
The Gray Man’s Back—And the Body Count’s Rising

Putin’s Long Shadow Over Post-Soviet Russia
Putin’s Long Shadow Over Post-Soviet Russia

The Architects of CIA Analysis
The Architects of CIA Analysis

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The Best National Security Gossip

GUESS WHO SHOWED UP FOR DINNER: In what may be the quietest headline of a very loud week, press accounts say that a senior Pentagon delegation made a surprise visit to Caracas on Wednesday - the first U.S. military mission to Venezuela since Nicolás Maduro's capture. General Francis Donovan, new head of the U.S. Southern Command and senior Pentagon official Joseph Humire led the delegation. The two sides reportedly agreed to cooperate on drug trafficking, terrorism, and migration issues. That's a lot of agenda items for a country whose government the U.S. just decapitated. Whether this is genuine diplomacy or a victory [...] More

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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

The former head of one of the government’s most secret agencies, the National Security Agency, and the former Commander of U.S. Cyber Command, General Paul Nakasone (ret.) sits down with State Secrets to talk about the things he wishes every American knew when it comes to today’s cyber threats.

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.