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DNI Day Two: Building the Intelligence Community for 2045

Author's NoteIn our first paper, DNI Day One: Three Strategic Decisions for National Security Evolution, we identified three challenges confronting [...] More

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The Kremlin Files: Russia, the Modern Surveillance State

The Kremlin Files: Russia, the Modern Surveillance State

THE KREMLIN FILES / COLUMN — Ask any Russian intelligence officer about “naruzhka,” and you’ll see them nod knowingly. It’s the term for physical, [...] More

2025: 10 Events That Changed the World

2025: 10 Events That Changed the World

SPECIAL REPORT — In a turbulent year, one of the biggest national security stories came in the form of a document.The administration’s National [...] More

A file picture taken 12 July 2007 shows the headquarters (aka Lubianka) of the Federal Security Service (FSB), the former KGB in Moscow.

Russia’s Intelligence Services After the War

Russia’s intelligence services (RIS) have failed spectacularly in Ukraine: in planning, execution, and analysis, yet they will face no reckoning. [...] More

The Downside to Mission Focus: Why the Intelligence Community Should Not Forget to Look Inward

Not long ago, I was talking to an old friend and China analyst about the need for Intelligence Community (IC) analysts to spend significantly more [...] More

The Future of U.S. Intelligence: Leaner, Smarter, and Tech-Focused

It is time to reimagine the US intelligence community (IC). The 1947 National Security Act established the CIA which arguably had the biggest impact [...] More

How We Got SSCI with a Little Help from CIA

You’ve probably seen that iconic photo of Senator Frank Church (D-ID) holding up a CIA poison dart gun, right? Or perhaps the one of Senator Barry [...] More

Cutting Cyber Intelligence Undermines National Security

America’s cyber intelligence capabilities are being eviscerated while the threats to national security emanating from cyber space are increasing. The [...] More

Spy Versus Spy: Iran’s Playbook for Espionage in Israel

Israel’s intelligence penetration of Iran played out in dramatic form over the course of the 12-day war this summer, but Iran is running an [...] More

Intelligence Reform Should Include an Updated Probability Yardstick

The US Intelligence Community (IC) is experiencing tumult and facing critique, and all things point to significant reform, creating an opening for [...] More

Expert Q&A: Undersea Cables Under Attack, from Outside and Within

EXPERT Q&AReports of damage to undersea cables across the world are on the rise, with suspected foul play in many of these incidents. These cables [...] More

Here’s How Russia’s Covert War Could Undermine its Own Goals

Here’s How Russia’s Covert War Could Undermine its Own Goals

EXPERT PERSPECTIVE / OPINION — The July 2025 sanctioning and indictment by the United Kingdom of three units and 18 individuals affiliated with the [...] More

I Sat Across the Table from China’s Spies. Here’s How They Operate in Fragile States

In 2016, I sat across the table from China’s Director of Operations for the Ministry of State Security (MSS). Their visit to Kabul was tightly [...] More