The Cipher Brief

Expect Russia to Escalate Its Attacks on our Democracies

From false-flag operations and social media manipulation to AI-enabled influence campaigns, Moscow continues to refine the intelligence tradecraft it has used against democratic societies for decades.

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The Kremlin Files: For many in the West, Russian information warfare still conjures images of hacked emails, troll farms, and social media [...] More

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LAPSED JUDGMENT: Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act expired at midnight Friday after the House rejected a last-ditch extension on Thursday by a vote of 198-218, and headed home for a weeklong recess. The law authorizing the warrantless collection of foreigners' electronic communications - and, incidentally, some Americans' communications as well - is officially expired. The surveillance isn't, however. Thanks to annual certifications approved by the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court in March, collection can continue under existing orders until March 2027. What Congress also failed to do before [...] More

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State Secrets

America's national security challenges are evolving faster than ever—and the traditional defense innovation system is struggling to keep pace.

In this episode of State Secrets, Cipher Brief CEO Suzanne Kelly sits down with two of the most influential voices in defense innovation: Steve Blank, creator of the Lean Startup methodology and co-founder of Hacking for Defense, and Pete Newell, retired Army officer, founder of BMNT, and co-founder of Hacking for Defense.

Together, they discuss how students at leading universities are tackling real-world challenges from the Pentagon, intelligence community, and NASA; why AI is changing the way innovators build solutions; and what it will take for the United States to compete with increasingly adaptive adversaries like China.

The conversation explores defense acquisition reform, the Pentagon's innovation ecosystem, startup culture in national security, the rise of defense venture capital, and why the biggest challenge may not be technology—but people.