What are our Adversaries trying to achieve in the Gray Zone?
This is part 2 of a 3-part series by Cipher Brief Expert and former Assistant Director of CIA for South and Central Asia Dave Pitts, who also […] More
Intelligence
The New Administration Meets the Intelligence Community: What Should We Expect?
OPINION — I’ve been wondering what I would say to my former government colleagues at this time of imminent change if I was still working among […] More
Welcome to the Gray Zone and the Future of Great Power Competition
This is part one of a 3-part series by Cipher Brief Expert and former Assistant Director of CIA for South and Central Asia Dave Pitts, who also […] More
8 Global Security Questions For 2025
SPECIAL REPORT — Given how unpredictable 2024 proved to be – did anyone foresee the fall of Bashar Al-Assad, the decapitation of Hezbollah, an invasion of […] More
The Latest
Cipher Brief Experts on What to Watch for in 2025
EXPERT INSIGHT – In the waning days of 2024, The Cipher Brief asked members of our expert network to look to the year ahead, and […] More
2024: 10 Great Cipher Brief Conversations
SPECIAL REPORT — In a year of world-changing events – from the Middle East to Ukraine, cyberattacks to undersea cable attacks, and much more – The […] More
National Security Experts Share Reasons for Hope in 2025
SPECIAL REPORT – In the last days of 2024, The Cipher Brief turned to our network of experts – who spend much of their time […] More
2024: 10 Events That Changed The World
SPECIAL REPORT — As we look back at the major national and global security events of 2024, it’s tempting to overuse certain words: stunning; staggering; […] More
An All-of-Society Approach to US Counterintelligence
OPINION — The United States stands at a crossroads, facing threats as insidious as they are immense. State-sponsored espionage, led by China, seeks not just to […] More
Director of National Intelligence: Without the ODNI, ‘We Might Miss the Next 9/11’
SPECIAL REPORT — It wasn’t quite an “exit interview,“ but with just over six weeks remaining for the Biden administration, the Director of National Intelligence […] More
Before Confirming Tulsi Gabbard, the Senate Must Read the Fine Print
OPINION — “To say it changed my life was an understatement; just every day being confronted with that heavy human cost of war…I was the brigade’s […] More
Are We Positioned to Win the Race for AI Supremacy?
EXPERT PERSPECTIVE / OPINION — In the high-stakes geostrategic race for artificial intelligence supremacy, the United States faces an unexpected adversary: its own government procurement […] More
A Personal Message of Thanks from The Cipher Brief
A PERSONAL MESSAGE / OPINION — In this space that’s normally reserved for world-class reporting and analysis of global security issues, we thought we’d do […] More
Lessons from Israel’s Tale of Two Fronts
OPINION — On Oct 6th, Hamas was ready to launch an audacious attack. It was complex, involved thousands of fighters, and aimed to kill, capture, […] More
How To Think in—and About—a Post-Analytic World
OPINION — In 1990, the world was on the cusp of a major transformation. The bifurcated, static and hierarchical Cold War era was giving way to […] More
A High-level Briefing on Russia for the next U.S. President
EXPERT OPINION – Dear 47th President of the United States, congratulations on your victory and thank you for your willingness to serve as the leader […] More
The U.S. is in the Midst of a Perfect ‘Cognitive Warfare’ Storm
During the 2024 Cipher Brief Threat Conference, Dave Pitts joined Brad Christian, Mike Vickers, and Ralph Goff in a discussion about Gray Zone Operations; a […] More
How to Save a Government: Remember 9/11 – and ‘Join the Team’
OPINION — Where were you two weeks after September 11th? No one ever asks this question, but it’s the one I answer in my mind when […] More
What Analysts Missed Before Russia’s Invasion – and What They’re Still Missing
EXPERT OPINION — A recent report from Washington’s Center for Strategic & International Studies (CSIS) is getting attention for calling out the failure of the […] More