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 Kremlin's Kill List: Inside a Culture of State-Sponsored Murder

Russian intelligence agencies have been executing defectors, dissidents, and rivals for more than a century. Under Putin, the practice has become strategic—and celebrated

The Kremlin's Kill List: Inside a Culture of State-Sponsored Murder

EXPERT OPINION / PERSPECTIVE — The 2024 spy swap between Russia and the West exposed a brutal truth: Moscow still treats innocent civilians as [...] More

RussiaEurope
Open Source Report logo

The Open Source Report

In this pool photograph distributed by the Russian state agency Sputnik, Russia's President Vladimir Putin attends a meeting with US special envoy Steve Witkoff and US President Donald Trump's son-in-law Jared Kushner (both not pictured) at the Kremlin in Moscow on December 2, 2025.

Global Intelligence Report for Thursday, December 4, 2025

Putin says Russia will take all of Ukraine's Donbas region militarily or otherwise

U.S. Military’s Boat Strikes Planning Takes On New Significance

Macron begins China visit with EU-China trade and Ukraine war high on the agenda

Nvidia CEO tells Joe Rogan: Nobody "really knows" AI's endgame

Access Today’s Report

Expert Insights

Cipher Brief Experts bring context to today’s global events

Putin Sees “Useful Meetings”, the U.S. Should See a Trap Set for Inexperienced Negotiators

Rob Dannenberg

EXPERT OPINION / PERSPECTIVE -- Reports from Moscow suggest that U.S. representatives Jared Kushner and Steve Witkoff are “optimistic” about the prospect of results from their discussion with Kremlin officials this week. [...] More

RussiaUkraineEurope

The Strategic Failure on North Korea’s Nuclear Rise

Ambassador Joseph DeTrani

EXPERT OPINION — South Korea’s Korea Institute for Defense Analysis recently publicly stated that we underestimated North Korea’s nuclear weapons program. According to their analysis, North Korea has between 127 and 150 [...] More

North KoreaAmbassador Joseph DeTraniAsia
View More ›

News & Analysis

‘Mind-Blowing’ Pentagon Overhaul Will Reshape Acquisition

‘Mind-Blowing’ Pentagon Overhaul Will Reshape Acquisition

FEATURED INTERVIEW — As the Pentagon undertakes its most ambitious overhaul yet of how it acquires new warfighting capabilities, Silicon Valley [...] More

Tech/CyberBrad Christian

Opinion

The Delhi Blast and Pakistan’s Proxy War: Why Another Clash Looks Likely

Siddhant Kishore

The Delhi Blast and Pakistan’s Proxy War: Why Another Clash Looks Likely

OPINION — South Asia has once again returned to the global spotlight after a suicide bombing struck the heart of India’s capital on November 10. The [...] More

Alternative PerspectivesAsia

What’s on The Cipher Brief’s Digital Channel

Tapping a China Vibe in South Koreaplay icon

Tapping a China Vibe in South Korea

The Open Source Report

Book Reviews

The FBI’s Pursuit of Chi Mak and the Challenge of Modern Spycraft
The FBI’s Pursuit of Chi Mak and the Challenge of Modern Spycraft

Want a Security Clearance? Stop Smoking Pot and Read This
Want a Security Clearance? Stop Smoking Pot and Read This

When the Chekists Took Up the Pen
When the Chekists Took Up the Pen

dead dropdead drop

The Best National Security Gossip

THE MISSING ADMIRAL: There’s been a lot of media attention over the past few days about Frank “Mitch” Bradley – who back on September 2nd was a 3-star Navy admiral leading the Joint Special Operations Command (JSOC). Today he may be holding the bag on the “double-tap” operation. (Note: on October 3rd he was promoted to four stars and took over the U.S. Special Operations Command, a move that had been in the works for months.) Military operations south of the U.S. border are the responsibility of U.S. Southern Command. Though JSOC appears to have been subordinated to them to conduct at least some of the drug boat strikes. [...] More

Get The Drop

Events

Live Events

The Cipher Brief 2026 HONORS Awards

The Cipher Brief 2026 HONORS Awards

Join us for the third annual Cipher Brief Honors Dinner, the evening of March 13, 2026. This Black-Tie event is invite only, please apply here for a [...] More

Upcoming: 13 March, 2026

Podcasts

State Secrets


Cover Stories: Spies, Books & Entertainment


David McCloskey, former CIA Analyst turned novelist is out with his fourth book, The Persian, about an Iranian dentist who is recruited by Mossad to take on a dangerous mission inside Iran. Cover Stories Host Suzanne Kelly digs in on how McCloskey’s real-life Intelligence background fueled his latest novel, and discovers a few of McCloskey’s own secrets along the way.