The Cipher Brief

The Experts

Cipher Brief Experts bring context to today’s global events

What’s on The Cipher Brief’s Digital Channel

IT ONLY TOOK 116 YEARS: The British Secret Intelligence Service better known as MI6 will soon be headed by its first-ever female chief when Blaise Metreweli, who now runs the technology and innovation division, takes over for Sir Richard Moore later this year. For those who know more about MI6 from James Bond movies that from real life, it’s interesting to note (as the BBC did) that the chief is commonly referred to as “C” – but the “C” doesn’t stand for chief as one might think. According to the BBC, “Britain's very first spy agency was called the Secret Service Bureau, established in the 1900s. It was led by a Royal [...] More

Get The Drop

Events

Live Events

Podcasts

State Secrets

Writing a book was something former senior CIA Officer Rob Dannenberg never thought he’d do, but as he started reflecting on the ways he and his former colleagues would celebrate the successful recruitment of a new agent or the end of an operation that he couldn’t talk about, he started thinking about the cocktails he and his colleagues would order to mark the occasion. Dannenberg recruited former colleague Joseph Mullin, CSW to help him compile not only the best recipes for the cocktails that defined their careers, but also for the stories that make them all the tastier.

Cover Stories: Spies, Books & Entertainment

Martin Dugard is an enormously prolific, best-selling author. In addition to ten mega-million selling books co-authored with Bill O’Reilly, He has authored a fistful of books about World War II including “Taking London,” “Taking Berlin” and “Taking Paris.” Now he is back with “Taking Midway: Naval Warfare, Secret Codes, and the Battle That Turned the Tide of World War II.” Podcast host Bill Harlow will talk with him about his sources and methods for cranking out so many deeply researched and well-received books – and what the world should know about a crusty 4-star admiral and a quirky Navy commander who combined to surprise the Imperial Japanese Navy and the world in one of the most consequential naval battles in history.