Skip to content
Search

Latest Stories

cipherbrief

Welcome! Log in to stay connected and make the most of your experience.

Input clean

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

The Continued Myth of Russia’s Imminent Collapse: Lessons from Prigozhin’s Mutiny Three Years On

As speculation about Vladimir Putin’s downfall grows again, lessons of Prigozhin’s rebellion remain widely misunderstood.

TOPSHOT-RUSSIA-UKRAINE-CONFLICT-WAGNER

KREMLIN FILES/COLUMN: Three years ago, in June 2023, the Kremlin confronted one of the most dramatic internal crises of Vladimir Putin's [...] More

Open Source Report logo

The Open Source Report

TOPSHOT-UAE-IRAN-US-ISRAEL-WAR TOPSHOT - Ships are docked along a pier at the Khor Fakkan Container Terminal, the only natural deep-sea port in the region and one of the major container ports in Sharjah Emirate, along the Gulf of Oman on July 14, 2026. Tehran announced it was closing the Strait of Hormuz on July 12 and launched missiles and drones at its Gulf neighbours, in retaliation for new US strikes following an attack by Iranian forces on a merchant vessel that was abandoned in flames by its crew. (Photo by AFP via Getty Images) /

Global Intelligence Report for Wednesday, July 15, 2026

Trump scraps contentious fee plan for Strait of Hormuz after wave of appeals

Trump tells Netanyahu to move Israeli forces out of Syria and Lebanon

U.S. Coast Guard expanding operations in disputed waters as challenge to Chinese power

NATO member Lithuania says Russia is planning attacks on infrastructure

Access Today’s Report

Expert Insights

Cipher Brief Experts bring context to today’s global events

Opinion

Afghanistan Lost the Cognitive War Before It Lost the State

Masoud Andarabi

The collapse of Afghanistan in August 2021 is still widely interpreted as a military or political failure. That interpretation is incomplete.Afghanistan collapsed because it lost the cognitive war long before it lost [...] More

Middle East
Opinion

Washington’s Spy Ring and Paine’s Democracy

Emily Harding

Agent 711 was one of the most effective and least known spies in our nation's history. He used dead drops to communicate about enemy plans. He used secret chemical processes to create new forms of invisible ink. He spread [...] More

Emily Harding
View More ›

News & Analysis

U.S. Military Launches Operation Epic Fury Attacking Iran

Endless Warfare – Part II: Countering Endless Warfare and its Networks

Author’s Note: This article is not about ‘endless wars’ as a critique of U.S. military interventions — that debate belongs elsewhere. It examines a [...] More

United States Americas Dave Pitts North America

Opinion

Trump’s Dangerous Bet on Pakistan’s Army Chief

Siddhant Kishore

Trump’s Dangerous Bet on Pakistan’s Army Chief

In the dusty streets of Rawalakot in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir this June, security forces opened fire on demonstrators demanding basic rights and an [...] More

Alternative Perspectives

What’s on The Cipher Brief’s Digital Channel

Book Reviews

Silva's Ransom Pays Off
Silva's Ransom Pays Off

Cole's Digital Danger Is A Useful Guide For The Wrong Audience
Cole's Digital Danger Is A Useful Guide For The Wrong Audience

The Nord Stream Sabotage: Mystery Attacks Explained
The Nord Stream Sabotage: Mystery Attacks Explained

dead drop dead drop

The Best National Security Gossip

FOR BETTER OR WORSE – According to reporting from MS NOW, (not the president’s favorite network) two Atlanta-based FBI intelligence analysts were dismissed after declining to participate in an investigation into what the president is convinced was voter fraud in the 2020 election. The two analysts reportedly told colleagues that they did not believe the probe met the standards typically required for an FBI inquiry. The analysts, a married couple, were reportedly escorted from the building, which saves them the agony of participating in an investigation that has become a major undertaking, with hundreds of FBI analysts [...] More

Get The Drop

Events

Live Events

2026 Threat Conference

2026 Threat Conference

The Cipher Brief Threat Conference is the nation’s premier forum for non-partisan discussion of global threats and solutions as well as high-level [...] More

Upcoming: 25 October, 2026

The Cipher Brief 2027 HONORS Awards

The Cipher Brief 2027 HONORS Awards

Join us for the third annual Cipher Brief Honors Dinner, the evening of April 9, 2027. This Black-Tie event is invite-only. Please apply here for a [...] More

Upcoming: 09 April, 2027

Podcasts

State Secrets

Speaking on the NATO summit in Ankara, Nick Fishwick assesses the alliance’s most urgent challenges, from Europe’s push to increase defense spending to the need for greater intelligence sharing and military interoperability. He explains why a peace agreement between Russia and Ukraine remains unlikely, what NATO is learning from Ukraine’s battlefield innovation, and why Russia continues to represent the alliance’s principal security threat. Fishwick also discusses the diminishing focus on Greenland as the war with Iran reshapes U.S. priorities.