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The Kremlin Files: Russia, the Modern Surveillance State

The Kremlin Files: Russia, the Modern Surveillance State

EXPERT OPINION / PERSPECTIVE — Ask any Russian intelligence officer about “naruzhka,” and you’ll see them nod knowingly. It’s the term for physical, [...] More

RussiaEuropeIntelligence

The Latest

Iran’s Protests Expose Deeper Fragility as Leaders Struggle to Contain Crisis

Iran’s Protests Expose Deeper Fragility as Leaders Struggle to Contain Crisis

CIPHER BRIEF EXPERT INTERVIEW -- Economic grievances in Iran have sparked demonstrations for a fifth straight day, with protests surfacing in Tehran [...] More

Middle EastIran
2025: 10 Events That Changed the World

2025: 10 Events That Changed the World

SPECIAL REPORT — In a turbulent year, one of the biggest national security stories came in the form of a document.The administration’s National [...] More

national securitymilitaryIntelligence
What Would Follow a Muslim Brotherhood Terrorist Designation?

What Would Follow a Muslim Brotherhood Terrorist Designation?

DEEP DIVE — On November 24, 2025, President Trump launched a process to designate Muslim Brotherhood chapters in Lebanon, Egypt, and Jordan as [...] More

Middle EastTerrorism
Winter is Coming to Ukraine as it Faces a New Kind of War and Uncertainty About a Key Ally

Winter is Coming to Ukraine as it Faces a New Kind of War and Uncertainty About a Key Ally

EXPERT INTERVIEW — Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky was in Berlin on Monday for an intense round of diplomacy with top U.S. and European [...] More

EuropeUkraine
Echoes of 1940: Learning from an Ally at War and Preparing the U.S. for the Next Fight

Echoes of 1940: Learning from an Ally at War and Preparing the U.S. for the Next Fight

EXPERT OPINION / PERSPECTIVE — Eighty-five years ago, as the United States cautiously explored an expanded alliance with Great Britain, our own [...] More

Tech/CyberEuropeUkraine
Russia is Waging a Sabotage Shadow War on Europe

Russia is Waging a Sabotage Shadow War on Europe

DEEP DIVE — In the darkness of night on November 15, a massive explosion ripped through a stretch of the Warsaw-Lublin railway line close to Mika, [...] More

RussiaEurope
What China’s ‘World-Class Navy’ Means for the U.S. and Asia

What China’s ‘World-Class Navy’ Means for the U.S. and Asia

DEEP DIVE — On a Wednesday in November, with Chinese President Xi Jinping looking on, the People’s Liberation Army Navy (PLAN) commissioned the [...] More

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

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
‘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
Do Oil Sanctions Still Work?

Do Oil Sanctions Still Work?

DEEP DIVE — On October 22, 2025, in his boldest move yet to force Vladimir Putin back to the negotiating table, President Trump unleashed sweeping [...] More

RussiaEurope
A file picture taken 12 July 2007 shows the headquarters (aka Lubianka) of the Federal Security Service (FSB), the former KGB in Moscow.

Russia’s Intelligence Services After the War

EXPERT PERSPECTIVE — Russia’s intelligence services (RIS) have failed spectacularly in Ukraine: in planning, execution, and analysis, yet they will [...] More

RussiaEuropeIntelligence
The Two-Front Nuclear Challenge: Iran, North Korea, and a New Era of U.S. Deterrence

The Two-Front Nuclear Challenge: Iran, North Korea, and a New Era of U.S. Deterrence

DEEP DIVE — While Washington is focused on Iran’s accelerating uranium-enrichment program and increasingly aggressive regional posture, an equally [...] More

IranNorth KoreaNuclearMiddle EastAsia