My Experience with Bitcoin and Challenging Conventional Wisdom
As Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies rise to record levels ahead of the direct offering of crypto exchange Coinbase, former Acting CIA Director Michael Morell is […] More
CIA
How Technology is Driving US Intelligence
Walter Pincus is a contributing senior national security columnist for The Cipher Brief. He spent forty years at The Washington Post, writing on topics from nuclear […] More
On Nuclear: Iran and North Korea are a Package Deal
Cipher Brief Expert John E. McLaughlin served as Acting Director of Central Intelligence from July to September 2004 and as Deputy Director of Central Intelligence […] More
The Realities of Diversity in Spycraft
Sonya Seunghye Lim is a former Chief of Station with the Central Intelligence Agency. Before retiring from the CIA’s Senior Intelligence Service, she had a […] More
The Spyhunter’s Burden
OPINION — A recent email from the current Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) Chief of Counterintelligence (C/CI), wherein Agency retirees were reminded of their life-long obligation […] More
And One More Thing: Further Thoughts on How the IC Can do Better
Carmen Medina, Former CIA Deputy Director of Intelligence Cipher Brief Expert Carmen Medina is a former CIA Deputy Director of Intelligence. A 32-year veteran of […] More
The Impact of Artificial Intelligence on the IC
The Cipher Brief’s Academic Incubator partners with national security-focused programs from colleges and Universities across the country share the work of the next generation of […] More
How Can Blinken’s Bold Plan for Afghanistan Succeed?
Tim Willasey-Wilsey, Cipher Brief Expert Tim Willasey-Wilsey is a Cipher Brief Expert on Afghanistan and a visiting Professor of War Studies at King’s College, London […] More
The Robot, the Targeter and the Future of U.S. National Security
Eric Washabaugh, Former CIA Targeting & Technology Manager Eric Washabaugh served as a targeting and technology manager at the CIA, where he served from 2006 […] More
Exclusive: Spy Chief Gets Welcome Endorsement
In a letter obtained by The Cipher Brief this week, former CIA Directors and Acting Directors, including former Director Gina Haspel, endorsed CIA Director Bill […] More
A Glimpse of Bill Burns’ CIA
Walter Pincus is a contributing senior national security columnist for The Cipher Brief. He spent forty years at The Washington Post, writing on topics from […] More
Bahrain’s Opportunity for a Human Rights Reset
Emile Nakhleh is a retired CIA Senior Intelligence Service Officer and founding director of the CIA’s Political Islam Strategic Analysis Program Office. He is also […] More
My Tribute to a CIA Legend
Marc Polymeropoulos served 26 years in the CIA before retiring from the Senior Intelligence Service in June 2019. His positions included field and headquarters operational […] More
The Intelligence Community is Broken, Here’s How We Fix It
Zachery Tyson Brown is an intelligence and national security futurist interested in the many ways in which intelligence, strategy, organizational design, and disruptive technologies intersect. […] More
The US Intelligence Community’s Complicated Relationship with Telework
Jim Danoy, Former Executive, Defense Intelligence Agency Cipher Brief Expert Jim Danoy is a former defense intelligence executive and served as the National Intelligence Manager […] More
Toward a More Diverse and Inclusive Intelligence Community
Lauren Zabierek is the Executive Director of the Cyber Project at Harvard Kennedy School’s Belfer Center. She previously served as an intelligence officer in the […] More
Biden’s National Security Test
Cipher Brief Expert John McLaughlin is former Acting Director of the CIA, former Deputy CIA Director and is the Distinguished Practitioner in Residence at the […] More
Improving Transnational Intelligence Sharing
Emile Nakhleh is a retired CIA Senior Intelligence Service Officer and founding director of the CIA’s Political Islam Strategic Analysis Program Office. Nakhleh is currently […] More