Dead Drop: January 17

DUST OFF THE TUX FOR SPY PROM: Who doesn’t love a Washington black-tie dinner?  Especially one where the ‘who’s who’ of the national security world […] More

Dead Drop: January 10

WHAT A DRAG: Finnish authorities say the tanker suspected of cutting multiple underwater cables in the Gulf of Finland apparently dragged its anchor for “up to 50 […] More

Dead Drop: January 3

A BRAVE NEW YEAR: The Ukrainian Defense Innovation Fund known as BRAVE1 isn’t waiting around to find out what happens regarding U.S. support for Ukraine […] More

Dead Drop: December 27

HO, HO, HOLY SMOKE: Drones are much in the news these days. The ones over New Jersey (so far) appear to be benign. The same cannot be said […] More

Dead Drop: December 20

UMM, BECAUSE HE’S EVIL?  We must admit that we are not regular followers of Tucker Carlson’s podcast – but you can rest assured, when something really […] More

Dead Drop: December 13

Happy Friday, the 13th (why does no one ever say that?) Let’s dig in: Access all of The Cipher Brief’s national security-focused expert insight by […] More

Dead Drop: December 6

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Dead Drop November 29

PROSPECT 2025: Much was said during the recent presidential election about the Heritage Foundation publication “Project 2025.” The 920 page document called Mandate, published in April 2023, had […] More

Dead Drop: November 22

BUOYS WILL BE BUOYS:  China’s Ministry of State Security is worried that foreign intelligence agencies may be trying to spy on their country’s submarine fleet. […] More

Dead Drop: November 15

STAYING OUT OF THE LINE OF FIRE: The Dead Drop generally tries to steer clear of politics for oh so many reasons. Actually, just one really […] More

Dead Drop: November 8

WHAT WOULD THE EXPERTS SAY:  Just after the U.S. presidential election, there was much speculation about how the next Trump administration will impact U.S. national […] More

Dead Drop: November 1

THEY’RE COMING FOR YOUR BRAIN: (well, sort of…)It got our attention this week when former senior CIA officers Dave Pitts and J.D. Maddox made a […] More

Dead Drop: October 25

A RECYCLED RUNWAY PROGRAM: While China seems determined to create new military bases in the Pacific – by making its own islands in the South China […] More

Dead Drop: October 18

GETTING BUZZED FOR 17 DAYS STRAIGHT:  No, this is not a story about a former CIA station chief…. though it is about Langley.  Not the one […] More

Dead Drop: October 11

WHAT HAPPENED TO VLAD: CIA Director Bill Burns turned up last week for The Cipher Brief Threat Conference in Sea Island, GA.  As you may […] More

Dead Drop: October 4

THERE IS NOTHING CERTAIN EXCEPT DEATH AND TAXES:  So said (allegedly), Ben Franklin. But you know who would agree with him?  Americans who are held hostage […] More

Dead Drop: September 27

SHAMELESS (Self-Promotion): A look behind-the-scenes at life at The Cipher Brief Access all of The Cipher Brief’s national security-focused expert insight by becoming a Cipher […] More

Dead Drop: September 20

RT AND THE TERRIBLE, HORRIBLE, NO GOOD, VERY BAD MONTH: The Russian propaganda arm RT (formerly known as Russia Today) is not having a very good […] More

Dead Drop: September 13

GOOD OLD USA: It’s exhausting following all the detail in various U.S. Department of Justice releases recently regarding Russian efforts to interfere in the 2023 U.S. […] More