Security Cocktail Hour

Charles Bolden: Why Space Is Not Air-Gapped

Former NASA Administrator and astronaut Charles Bolden joins the Security Cocktail Hour to explain why space is not as isolated as people assume. We cover: * Why mission control still sits in the middle * Why messages get routed, reviewed, and filtered before reaching a vehicle * How consumer devices expand the attack surface in space * What cooperation in orbit teaches about security and civics * Why he does not buy the hype about easy moon or Mars colonization Organizations mentioned in this episode: Intrepid Museum: https://intrepidmuseum.org/ Astronauts for America: https://www.astronautsforamerica.org/

Your Stolen Car Can Track Itself

Modern cars are phones with wheels: GPS, telematics, connected apps, and data streams that can expose privacy risks, but also help recover a stolen vehicle before it disappears across jurisdictions. Maria Santos and Eugene Giordani, co-founders of Autoscope, join the Security Cocktail Hour to explain how law enforcement can use consent-based access to connected-car data after a theft. We talk about relay attacks, key cloning, license plate reader limits, built-in GPS, jurisdiction problems, AirTags, immobilizers, Faraday bags, dash cams, and the practical steps car owners can take before something happens. If you care about cybersecurity, connected vehicles, public safety, privacy, or just keeping your car in your driveway, this one is for you. Website: https://securitycocktailhour.com [https://securitycocktailhour.com] LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/security-cocktail-hour [https://www.linkedin.com/company/security-cocktail-hour] Twitter/X: @SecCocktailHour Enjoyed this episode? Follow us and share it with a colleague or friend who owns a connected car.

Drones Were Just the Beginning. Space Security Is Next.

In this episode, Ché Bolden joins us to talk about drone security, uncrewed systems, satellite security, GPS, autonomy, counter-drone defense, and the growing cyber risks around space-based infrastructure. We get into how drones were originally secured, why unencrypted links were such a problem, how command-and-control attacks can work, and why space is now part of the security conversation. This conversation sits at the intersection of cyber security, drone warfare, satellite security, space security, and the future of connected systems. If you care about drones, satellites, GPS, cyber risk, or the security of critical infrastructure, this episode is worth a listen. Guest Ché Bolden Learn more: bolden.group interastra.institute

Zero Trust in Orbit: Getting Satellite Security Off the Ground | Joe South

Joe South joins the Security Cocktail Hour to discuss the state of communication satellite security and the doctoral research he is doing to change it. Joe is Director of Cloud & AI Security at Abira Security and hosts the Security Unfiltered podcast, one of the larger independent cybersecurity podcasts. The conversation covers what satellite defense actually looks like today: why most of the security is at the ground station rather than on the satellite itself, what happens when CubeSats stay in orbit for 10 to 12 years without meaningful patching, and how a zero trust framework could be made to work on hardware that operates on less than three watts of power. Joe walks through his proposed approach, which combines TPM-based component authentication with a distributed trust ring across satellite orbits.We also get into cyber warfare and the attribution problem, the strategic implications of a compromised satellite fleet, and Joe's personal story about building self-sufficiency. If you work in cloud, infrastructure, or national security and have never had space in your threat model, this is a good place to start. Guest: Joe South, Director of Cloud & AI Security at Abira Security, host of Security Unfiltered (securityunfiltered.com), doctoral candidate at Capital Technology University.Subscribe to the Security Cocktail Hour newsletter at securitycocktailhour.com for a biweekly read on cybersecurity news and upcoming episodes.

How Drones in Public Safety Went From "That's a Toy" to 1,000 Programs | Matt Sloane

Matt Sloane has spent 13 years in the drone industry, working with over 1,000 public safety agencies to build and operate drone programs. As Co-Founder and Chief Strategy Officer of SkyfireAI, he's at the intersection of drone operations, AI-enabled autonomy, and national security policy. In this conversation, Matt covers how drone first response (DFR) programs are changing 911 operations, why the FAA's upcoming Part 108 framework will prioritize autonomy over human pilots, how counter-UAS mitigation actually works (with memorable stories from the Super Bowl and World Cup preparations), and what he told the White House about the Chinese drone ban's impact on American public safety agencies. Supply chain risk from Chinese-made drones mirrors the Hikvision and Huawei debates. Counter-UAS involves signal jamming and RF detection. Autonomous drone systems are expanding the attack surface in ways most security programs haven't accounted for yet.