The Cipher Brief

Regime change is the easy part. The “day after” is where it falls apart. Iran isn’t Iraq. It isn’t Libya. And the risks are far greater. 6 reasons why — and why a deal may be the only realistic endgame. Read more: #Iran #NationalSecurity #Geopolitics thecipherbrief.com/why-the-day-af…

From battlefield shifts to political fallout, today’s Open Source Report breaks down the stories shaping the national security landscape. thecipherbrief.com/report/global-…

Ukraine turned necessity into innovation - and now the world is paying attention. Battle-tested, low-cost drone tech is exposing the limits of billion-dollar defense systems and reshaping how wars are fought. Read more ⬇️ thecipherbrief.com/from-kyivs-ski…

Romania is facing a wave of cyberattacks tied to its support for Ukraine but where is the EU response? A new analysis argues Europe is failing to use its own cyber sanctions tools. Read more. #Cybersecurity #EU #Ukraine thecipherbrief.com/romania-pays-t…

A deal with the devil? The U.S. is working with figures it once targeted to stabilize Venezuela after Maduro’s removal - betting on short-term control while deeper threats linger. How risky is the strategy? Read more ⬇️ thecipherbrief.com/trump-in-carac…

Adversaries don’t need to outbuild the U.S. they just need to exploit its internal weaknesses. A new perspective on national security. thecipherbrief.com/national-secur…

The goal isn’t to convince you what’s true. It’s to make you believe nothing is. thecipherbrief.com/when-deepfakes…

From the Suez Crisis to Iraq to today, NATO has faced deeper divisions—and endured. Why today’s tensions may signal evolution, not collapse. Read more. #Defense #Transatlantic thecipherbrief.com/natos-fracture…

Zelensky’s message: Ukraine has something the world needs. Now it’s using that leverage to strengthen alliances. Read more. #Geopolitics #Security thecipherbrief.com/zelensky-plays…

As calls for diplomacy grow, one former intelligence official argues the roots of this conflict go back decades. Read the full piece. #ForeignPolicy #Security thecipherbrief.com/terror-in-iran…

Millions of drones are coming to U.S. airspace. But local authorities lack the tools and authority to manage them. Read more. #Drones #NationalSecurity thecipherbrief.com/american-drone…

Geopolitics is driving markets today, from Middle East tensions to shifting trade signals. Catch the latest risks and opportunities in today’s OSR. thecipherbrief.com/report/global-…

Why the Pakistan–Afghanistan conflict is the crisis policymakers aren’t paying enough attention to. Read the full analysis by Siddhant Kishore. thecipherbrief.com/pakistan-afgha…

Global Intelligence Report for Thursday, March 19, 2026. Check out the top stories. thecipherbrief.com/report/global-…

More than half of China’s top military leadership is gone. Xi Jinping’s sweeping purge is raising serious questions about PLA readiness and Taiwan plans. Read more at the Cipher Brief. #China #PLA #Taiwan thecipherbrief.com/chinas-militar…

Weakened, fragmented, but still dangerous. Iran’s regional network is shifting as groups balance survival, politics, and militancy. thecipherbrief.com/irans-axis-of-…

What if analysts could search the globe with a sentence from an intelligence report? A new proposal argues that a multi-modal GEOINT foundation model could transform how the U.S. detects threats and understands the world. thecipherbrief.com/multi-modal-fo…

“Digital Dominance” may be the key to future national power. Experts say the U.S. must rethink how it defends itself and operates in cyberspace. Read more. #Technology #Security #AI thecipherbrief.com/america-is-dig…

What happens if Iran continues to threaten shipping through the Strait of Hormuz? Norm Roule explains the coalition challenge, the military risks, and why the waterway matters to the global economy. thecipherbrief.com/at-the-center-…

Global Intelligence Report for Monday, March 16, 2026 thecipherbrief.com/report/global-…