Putin’s Playbook for the West
The Cipher Brief continues it’s coverage on Russia this week in light of the poisoning of Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny. We tapped Cipher Brief Expert […] More
Russia
Poison, Protest & Putin’s Power
OPINION — Taken together, the protests underway in Belarus and the poisoning of Kremlin opponent Alexei Navalny — by what German doctors now say was […] More
Is Russia getting away with Murder?
(The Cipher Brief 2020 Threat Conference will host an interactive session on this topic during The Cipher Brief Threat Conference September 13-15. Find details in […] More
The Biggest Threat to US Elections
OPINION — President Trump and elements of his administration are publicly assessing that China poses a greater national security threat to the US election than […] More
Global Knowledge Warfare: Using Strategic Imagination to Harness Uncertainty and Fear
Eric Shiraev, Political Psychologist, George Mason University “The Cipher Brief has become the most popular outlet for former intelligence officers; no media outlet is even […] More
Is the US Staying on Top of its Espionage Game?
As part of The Cipher Brief’s look at known Russian spies, we spoke with Cipher Brief Expert Rolf Mowatt-Larssen about the spy game and a […] More
Recruiting for Mother Russia
Last week, a former Army Green Beret captain was indicted, accused of providing national defense information to Russia in what appeared to be a spying […] More
Putin’s Cloak and Dagger Moves
Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny is in a coma after doctors at the German hospital where he is being treated say he was poisoned. Last […] More
A Student Reviews Putin’s People
BOOK REVIEW: Putin’s People: How the KGB Took Back Russia and Then Took on the West by Catherine Belton “The Cipher Brief has become the […] More
Putin’s Revenge
Cipher Brief Expert Ambassador Joseph DeTrani is former Director of the National Counterproliferation Center. The views are the authors and not any government agency or […] More
COVID-19, Information and the Deep Structure of the International System
Dr. Leo Blanken is an Associate Professor of Defense Analysis at the Naval Postgraduate School. He is the author of Rational Empires: Institutional Incentives and […] More
The Real Russian Mission in Afghanistan
The House Foreign Affairs Committee is focusing on reported intelligence that Russia placed bounties on the lives of US troops in Afghanistan. The committee is […] More
Russian Aims in Afghanistan
Bottom Line: Russia is accused of funding Taliban contract killings of US troops in Afghanistan. US military officials made limited accusations of Russian arms support […] More
The Battle over Bounties and the Bottom Line
OPINION — On 27 June, The New York Times reported Russia was offering bounties to the Taliban to kill American soldiers. The paper cited anonymous […] More
Where are Ripples from the Oil War Heading?
Global markets responded on Monday to fears of a second-wave of coronavirus infections and one of the industries feeling the pressure is the gas and […] More
Iran’s Shifting Posture in Syria
Bottom Line up Front Iran’s apparent drawdown of its military presence in Syria likely reflects Tehran’s calculation that the regime of President Bashar Al […] More
Libya’s Carpe Diem?
Brigadier General Mark Kimmitt, US Army (Ret) was the Assistant Secretary of State for Political-Military Affairs from 2008-2009. Prior to that, he was the Deputy […] More
Russian Influence Grows in the Middle East and North Africa
Bottom Line Up Front In both Syria and Libya, Russia has relied on a combination of mercenaries, weapons sales to proxies and clients, and […] More