The Cipher Brief

Blockade by Permission: How Iran Determines Who Gets Through Hormuz

Rather than shutting the Strait of Hormuz outright, Iran is selectively allowing favored vessels through - turning one of the world’s most vital energy chokepoints into a tool of geopolitical leverage.

For roughly two weeks, the Karachi, a Pakistani-flagged Aframax tanker loaded with crude at Das Island in Abu Dhabi, sat waiting for a signal that [...] More

The Open Source Report

Expert Insights

Cipher Brief Experts bring context to today’s global events

Trump’s Cyber Strategy Is a Strong Playbook, but It’s All in the Execution

OPINION — The White House is making a significant effort toward putting the nation’s cyber house in order. A newly released National Cyber Strategy represents a big step in the right direction for U.S. national security [...] More

News & Analysis

Opinion

Romania Pays the Cyber Price for Backing Ukraine. Where is the EU?

Romania Pays the Cyber Price for Backing Ukraine. Where is the EU?

OPINION – When ransomware groups hit Romania’s national water agency, its largest coal-fired power producer and oil pipeline operator all in recent [...] More

What’s on The Cipher Brief’s Digital Channel

Book Reviews

GRU COLONEL'S COVERT ANT COLONY BECOMES A CASUALTY OF WAR: The Insider, the Latvia-based Russian investigative outlet that has made a cottage industry of unmasking GRU operatives, published a gem this week involving Iran, air defense radar, and roughly 1,000 ants. Yes, ants. GRU Lt. Col. Yuly Deryabin was posted to Tehran to advise Iran on Russian radar systems. Then the U.S. and Israel reportedly wiped out most of Iran’s air defenses on Day One, including the systems Deryabin was there to protect. A career setback, to say the least.But the real story is the ants. The Insider says that Deryabin, who apparently inherited a [...] More

Get The Drop

Events

Live Events

Podcasts

State Secrets

Washington Post columnist and bestselling novelist David Ignatius joins State Secrets to reflect on more than five decades covering intelligence, war, and global power. In this conversation with Suzanne Kelly, Ignatius shares his perspective on what he calls a potentially historic moment in U.S. conflict with Iran and explains why today’s battles increasingly unfold in the gray zone - from cyber operations to covert networks operating far from traditional battlefields.

Ignatius also discusses the evolving relationship between journalists and intelligence agencies, the challenges of reporting during periods of restricted access, and why original reporting still matters in an era of AI-generated analysis.

Drawing on decades of travel and firsthand reporting - from Beirut to Kyiv - he explains why being on the ground remains essential to understanding modern conflict, including what he calls Ukraine’s emerging “algorithm war.”

The conversation comes as Ignatius is honored with The Cipher Brief’s 2026 Impact in Journalism Award, recognizing a career spent uncovering how intelligence, technology, and geopolitics shape the world.