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Dead Drop

NOUN

  1. A location to secretly pass information without a face-to-face meeting.

Each week we hope to give our readers tidbits of gossip from the world of national security and intelligence. The Dead Drop is a source of fun or intriguing news you can’t get anywhere else.

Got a tip for us? Email us at  thedeaddrop@thecipherbrief.com  and share the scoop. We promise to protect our sources and methods.

Below is our recent intelligence collection:

Dead Drop: Week of September 15

WE’RE NOT GOING TO WAR WITH FUZZY FACES: An announcement was made yesterday by chief Pentagon spokesman Sean Parnell highlighting how the Secretary of War is cracking down on grooming standards for the troops. Parnell shared a memo that his boss sent to Pentagon leaders on August 20 (way back when Pete Hegseth was known as the Secretary of Defense.) For many years, servicemen could get medical waivers allowing them to grow beards if they had conditions that prevented them from getting close shaves. (There is a condition known as Pseudofolliculitis barbae - aka “razor bumps” - that impacts men [...] Read More

Dead Drop: Week of September 8

CHINA KILLS ‘IMMORTAL’ VIDEO: Remember that recent video of President Xi and Putin caught on a hot mic talking about how organ transplants may soon [...] More

Dead Drop: Week of September 1

TUCKERED OUT: You may be getting as tired as we are hearing stuff about former Fox News talking head Tucker Carlson but he just keeps saying so much [...] More

Dead Drop Archive

Dead Drop: Week of August 24

VENICE BRINGS THE DYNAMITE – Spies tell us that Oscar-winning Hollywood director Kathryn Bigelow is on her way to the Venice International Film [...] More

Dead Drop: Week of August 18

THE HOUSE WHERE IT HAPPENED: There was a ton of media interest on Friday surrounding the FBI search of former National Security Advisor John Bolton’s [...] More

Dead Drop: Week of August 15

GROK RUN AMOK: Many people do their best thinking of the day while driving to work. And some folks, apparently, the worst. Someone recently posted a [...] More

Dead Drop: August 8

IN THIS WEEK’S COLLECTION: The head of Australia’s Security Intelligence Organization gets specific about foreign intelligence agencies that are [...] More

Dead Drop: August 1

AT THE TOP OF THE GOSSIP LIST: A closer look at what the CIA’s venture capital arm is doing with its money, the Secretary of the Navy is shuffling [...] More

Dead Drop: July 25

FIRST TROLL FARMS, NOW LAPTOP FARMS – This week’s award for most creative traitor goes to an Arizona woman who just earned herself 102 months in [...] More

Dead Drop: July 18

IN THIS WEEK’S EDITION: CIA’s existential threat might not be what you think it is, the CIA’s EXDIR is back in business, a warning to be careful of [...] More

Dead Drop: July 11

IN THIS WEEK'S EDITION: (Yet) another Russian leader who falls out with Putin, has a really bad week; Reports emerge about Iran's low-budget [...] More

Dead Drop: July 4

IN THIS WEEK’S EDITION: We’re wishing the U.S. a very happy birthday and sending our gratitude to those who are working overseas to help keep the [...] More

Dead Drop: June 27

THIS WEEK: SURPRISES, SECRETS AND SPY COCKTAILS: This week’s best collection of national security gossip is filled with surprises, secrets and a [...] More

Dead Drop: June 20

IT ONLY TOOK 116 YEARS: The British Secret Intelligence Service better known as MI6 will soon be headed by its first-ever female chief when Blaise [...] More

Dead Drop: June 13

SHOULD GREENLAND AND PANAMA BE (EVEN MORE) NERVOUS: Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth was engaged in a war of words this week with lawmakers during a [...] More