The Cipher Brief

DNI Day Two: Building the Intelligence Community for 2045

A new DNI should refocus ODNI on enterprise leadership, modernize intelligence investment, and close the seams adversaries exploit across the national security landscape.

Author's NoteIn our first paper, DNI Day One: Three Strategic Decisions for National Security Evolution, we identified three challenges confronting [...] More

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Cipher Brief Experts bring context to today’s global events

The War Before the War Has Already Begun

The War Before the War Has Already Begun

There are 65 active state-based conflicts in the world today, according to the Uppsala Conflict Data Program. That is not 65 separate crises. It is [...] More

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THE SPOOK SPREADSHEET: The Trump administration is pushing the Office of the Director of National Intelligence to compile a master list of every foreign espionage target the U.S. is tracking, according to The New York Times. The list would reportedly include suspected spies, potential recruits - the works. The FBI and CIA, who would be asked to hand over the identities behind their most sensitive investigations and assets, are said to be not enthusiastic. Acting ODNI chief Bill Pulte, who ran the housing portfolio, is the man who'd be minding the store. Centralizing the names of every spy and suspected-spy in one place is [...] More

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How will wars be fought in the next decade—and is the United States prepared?

In this exclusive conversation, The Cipher Brief CEO Suzanne Kelly sits down with General David Petraeus to examine the sweeping transformation reshaping modern warfare. Drawing on his repeated visits to Ukraine alongside The Cipher Brief, General Petraeus argues that the battlefield has changed more dramatically in the last three years than at any point in modern military history.

From artificial intelligence and autonomous systems to drone swarms and machine-speed decision making, Petraeus explains why the war in Ukraine has become the world's most important laboratory for military innovation—and why the United States and its allies must move far more quickly to adapt.

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