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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: February 22-28

SUIT YOURSELF: Effective public messaging requires tailoring, just like if you’re buying a good suit. Funny enough, CNN is reporting that Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem has approved a plan to purchase two taxpayer-funded suits for newly members of the Secret Service protective detail. The orders come complete with fabric requirements and interior name embroidery. The official rationale: plain clothes agents have historically purchased their own professional attire, while the uniformed division were issued outfits and this is just a measure of equity. The rumor mill, however, says [...] Read More

Dead Drop: February 15 - 21

FROM A BUNKER IN UKRAINE: TWO FORMER CIA OFFICERS SHARE INTEL — In this week’s State Secrets podcast, former CIA Chiefs of Station Ralph Goff and [...] More

Dead Drop: February 8-14

BLANKET COVERAGE: Turns out the turbulence at the Department of Homeland Security isn’t just contained to the border or even in the briefing room. A [...] More

Dead Drop Archive

Dead Drop: February 1-7

OUT WITH THE FACTS — After first being launched in 1962, the CIA’s World Factbook is no more. As the agency described on its website, the World [...] More

Dead Drop: January 25 - 31

REEL INTELLIGENCE: BEIJING TAKES SPIES TO THE SILVER SCREEN: If you plan on being in China to celebrate the Lunar New Year (around February 17), you [...] More

Dead Drop: January 18 - 24

HEAD GAMES ON THE USS FORD - Fresh from supporting U.S. operations off the coast of Venezuela, the USS Gerald R. Ford appears locked in a stubborn [...] More

Dead Drop: January 11 - 17

LICENSE TO EXPEL — DIPLOMACY GETS THE BOOT: Russia has ordered an unnamed British diplomat to leave Moscow within two weeks, accusing the official of [...] More

Dead Drop: January 4 - 10

NSA ENDS DEPUTY DIRECTOR DROUGHT: After a notably long stretch without a permanent senior civilian at Fort Meade, the National Security Agency has [...] More

Dead Drop: December 28 - January 4

HAPPY NEW YEAR FROM THE DEAD DROP: If 2026 is anything like 2025, there will be no shortage of headlines full of absurdities, oddities and just plain [...] More

Dead Drop: December 21-27

YOU SUNK MY BATTLESHIP – If you are among those who spent the holidays dreaming of big beautiful battleships on the near horizon like the one [...] More

Dead Drop: December 14-20

COAST GUARD BACKS AWAY FROM “SWASTIKAS ARE JUST DIVISIVE” POLICY. SENATE BREATHES AGAIN -- After a week of self-inflicted chaos, the Coast Guard [...] More

Dead Drop: Week of December 7

THERE’S SOME WHACKY SH*T GOING ON AT NSA: It’s like leadership roulette at the National Security Agency (NSA), now with 100% more chaos. According to [...] More

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 [...] More

Dead Drop: November 24

CODENAME 'INTELACCESS': For the first time ever in its decade of publishing national security insights from insiders, The Cipher Brief is offering a [...] More

Dead Drop: November 16

WHAT ABOUT THE SCULL AND CROSSBONES? The Washington Post reported recently that the U.S. Coast Guard had modified its stance on whether swastikas and [...] More