The Cipher Brief’s Open Source Report (OSR) is a M–F curated collection of open source developments around the world provided to a highly discerning national security audience. Think of it as your daily presidential brief on the events impacting US national security.
In this episode: China is US Intel Community's hardest target; Travel ban on Nicaraguan officials; EU seeks to bolster military capability by 2025; Facebook says Pakistani group tracked Afghan government officials' mobile devices during Taliban offensive.
In this episode: A big news day. Reports suggest no surprises from Biden-Xi summit though both sides touched on a number of areas of tension; Russia destroys a space satellite and draws sharp condemnation from US as France warns Russia on Ukraine saying that NATO is prepared to defend Ukraine's territorial integrity.
In this episode: US Vice President Kamala Harris says the United States is ‘very concerned’ and closely monitoring the situation in Belarus and that Alexander Lukashenko is engaged in 'troubling activities'.
In this episode: All eyes on Belarus, Poland and Ukraine as Blinken warns Russia against a 'rehash' of the 2014 Crimea invasion; More talk of Cold War between China and US as Xi-Biden prepare to talk next week; Chinese Communist Party elevates Xi to highest status in Chinese official history and Iran gets ready to play hard ball at nuclear negotiations.
In this episode: A new report says that the Biden administration is frustrated by intelligence gaps into Beijing; Biden and Xi plan virtual meeting for as soon as next week; New sanctions on Nicaragua expected;Tensions very high along Poland-Belarus border; Israel speeding up military planning for war with Iran and China conducts 'combat readiness patrol' near Taiwan.
The US Justice Department has charged two individuals, a Ukrainian and Russian on fraud and money laundering charges for their alleged roles in ransomware attacks carried out by the group calling itself R-Evil. The Ukrainian citizen is suspected of being involved in several ransomware attacks, including the attack on Florida software firm Kaseya in July. He was arrested in Poland last month and is facing US extradition charges. The other suspect, a Russian citizen is still at large, but the department said it had seized $6.1 million in funds traceable to ransom payments that were allegedly received by him.
Topping our open-source report today, The Pentagon is expressing new concerns over China’s expanding nuclear weapons arsenal and says that it could include 700 warheads by 2027 and possibly 1,000 by 2030. The projection – which was included in the Pentagon’s annual report to Congress - marks a sharp increase from a previous estimate that the Chinese arsenal would reach only 400 by 2030. The assessment also highlighted China’s expansion of missile silo fields and hypersonic missile tests, as well as its rapid naval buildup.
In today's episode: Russian media is reporting that CIA Director William Burns met with Russia’s Security Council Secretary Nikolai Patrushev in Moscow. No other details have been released but reporting on the movements of a CIA Director in real-time would generally be considered a security risk – I want to note that the meeting has apparently already happened.
General John Hyten, the vice chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, says China is modernizing its military at a “stunning” pace and will surpass the military power of both Russia and the US in the coming years “if we don’t do something to change it.” His remarks reflect worries at the Pentagon about China’s rapid military investment and achievement, highlighted by the expansion of its nuclear arsenal, aggression towards Taiwan, and recent hypersonic missile tests.
Afghan officials increase pressure on US to release frozen assets; President Joe Biden in Rome for G20 summit before heading to Glasgow for UN climate summit.
Milley confirms China's successful hypersonic test and calls it 'very concerning' while others are suggesting it is a 'Sputnik moment'; US Intel assessments varied significantly on the timeline for Afghan collapse following US withdrawal and a lot more in this episode. We're back after a few days off for the 2021 Cipher Brief Threat Conference.
We're live at the 2021 Cipher Brief Threat Conference and in this special episode we talk with the Hon. Susan M. Gordon, former Principal Deputy Director of National Intelligence.
President Joe Biden creates a stir with comments on defending Taiwan and NATO says relations with Russia at Cold War levels.
In this episode: More details emerging from a Financial Times piece that is reporting two Chinese tests of a nuclear-capable hypersonic glide vehicle that orbited earth and 'stunned' US intelligence leaving some analysts 'struggling to understand' how China pulled it off.
In this episode: Navy plans disciplinary action for over a dozen as probe finds that the destruction of the USS Bonhomme Richard was preventable.
In this episode: The Wall Street Journal reports that Haitian kidnappers are demanding $17 million for the release of the hostages as the US announces the FBI is leading the investigation; US Envoy to Afghanistan Zalmay Khalilzad stepping down from his role less than two months after chaotic US withdrawal from Afghanistan and a lot more.
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