Climate Change and National Security
The historic international conference on climate change is wrapping up in Paris after two weeks of intense negotiations to reach agreement on a plan to […] More
Intelligence
The Paris Attacks
Intelligence failure: those are two words we often hear following a devastating terrorist attack such as what we saw this weekend in Paris. Almost by […] More
A Malignant Cancer
The Cipher Brief spoke with Rob Richer, CIA’s former Associate Deputy Director for Operations, about the terrorist attacks in Paris. Richer spoke about the importance […] More
A Shift in Strategy
The Paris attacks last Friday demonstrated ISIS ability to strike in the heart of Western Europe. Kevin Hulbert, a former senior intelligence officer in the […] More
The Impact of Leaks
The Cipher Brief sat down with General Keith Alexander, former Director of the National Security Agency. Alexander discussed the Paris attacks, the impact of the […] More
The Future of Geospatial Intelligence
The National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency may be the most massive intelligence organization you’ve never heard of. While rarely making headlines, NGA is the lead federal agency […] More
Leadership Profile: Sue Gordon, Deputy Director of the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency
Sue Gordon’s mission to help forge the future of The National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency (NGA) is no small task. Consider that she leads a team of […] More
Growth of Satellite Technology
Q&A with Walter Scott, Founder of DigitalGlobe One of the major commercial satellite companies is DigitalGlobe. The Cipher Brief sat down with its founder, Walter […] More
Succeeding in the Open
Q&A with NGA Director Robert Cardillo on “Succeeding in the Open” The Cipher Brief sat down recently with NGA Director Robert Cardillo to ask about […] More
Washington’s Latest “Scandal"
Do you want an opinion from someone who doesn’t have any relevant information? Probably not. However, many journalists and self described experts don’t seem deterred […] More
The Value of Human Intelligence
The Cipher Brief sat down with Rob Richer, the CIA’s former Associate Deputy Director for Operations, to talk about the evolution of espionage and the value […] More
Review: CIA’s Most Valuable Spy
For years, when I was asked to describe the intensity of the relationship between a CIA handler and his/her foreign sources, I would often refer […] More
Former CIA Director Michael Hayden on the Iran Deal
The White House has reached an agreement with Iran to suspend its nuclear weapons program in exchange for sanctions relief. Congress now has 60 days […] More
The Blurred Line Between Cybercrime and Cyberespionage
Cybercriminals are now using more advanced methods, once the exclusive domain of the state, to steal and profit from personal and proprietary information, blurring the […] More
Crowdsourced Jihad: The New Trend in Homegrown Terror
The call came on June 23. Abu Mohammed al-Adnani, the spokesman for the Islamic State, in June urged ISIS followers to go on a month-long […] More
Wahishi’s Death
Al-Qa’ida’s number two, Nasir Wahishi, is believed to have died in a drone strike in southern Yemen last month. He ran one of the most […] More
Countering Online Extremists Requires Offline Intervention
Seemingly a typical teen living in the Virginia suburbs of the nation’s capital, Ali Shukri Amin, 17, led a different life online as curator of a pro-ISIS […] More
The Presidential Transition: More Than Names On a Whiteboard
A recent opinion piece in the Washington Post suggests that the major political parties and their prospective presidential candidates ought to be thinking about transition […] More