Latest columns

Real Problems with ‘Fake News’

by Intel Brief

  Bottom Line Up Front In India, the world’s largest democracy, politics continue to be disrupted by ‘fake news’ and deliberate disinformation campaigns targeting the nation’s...

What a Designated Terrorist IRGC Could Mean for the U.S.

by Norman Roule

Iran’s Supreme National Security Council is taking retaliatory steps after President Donald Trump announced on Monday that the U.S. will designate Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC)...

Iran’s Revolutionary Guard Corps Named Terrorist Group

by Intel Brief

  Bottom Line Up Front The 8 April Trump administration announcement designating Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) as a Foreign Terrorist Organization will have little practical...

Training the Next Field of Space Warriors

by Walter Pincus

The U.S. is trying to quickly gear up the nation’s ability to fight in space and our best clues into just how they’re planning to do it, are coming from congressional testimony. This is...

The Art of Catching a Spy

by To Catch A Spy

Former Deputy Director for Counterintelligence at the CIA, Mark Kelton, reviews the new book by James Olson, To Catch a Spy: The Art of Counterintelligence. This is Cipher Brief Level I Member Only...

Putin Flexes Russian Muscle Abroad

by Intel Brief

  Bottom Line Up Front Vladimir Putin has consolidated Russian power in Moscow’s near abroad and traditional sphere of influence. The Kremlin has also made moves to increase the country’s...

5 Questions for PDDNI Susan Gordon

The Principal Deputy Director for National Intelligence (PDDNI) Susan Gordon spoke at the recent Cipher Brief Threat Conference about  how technology and the role of the private sector are changing...

Has the Arab Spring Finally Reached Algeria?

by Intel Brief

  Bottom Line Up Front On 2 April 2019, Algerian president Abdelaziz Bouteflika announced his immediate resignation, ending his nearly 20-year rule. For decades, real power in Algeria has been...

The Atomwaffen Division (AWD): A Brief Profile

by Intel Brief

  Bottom Line Up Front The Atomwaffen Division is a Neo-Nazi group formed in 2015 with a cellular-based organizational structure and an estimated membership of several dozen to 80, located...

A Rapp Sheet Worth Writing About

by Bill Rapp

Bill Rapp’s real story is just as interesting as the ones he makes up. The former CIA Analyst began working in West Germany back when the country was still divided after World War II.  He also...