Security Cocktail Hour

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

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.

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.

Amanda King was a Senior Director of Breakthrough Technology at an aerospace and defense company when she learned she was on a list of 77 people specifically targeted by Iran's Charming Kitten APT group. In this episode, she tells the full story: how the Associated Press tried to reach her three times, what the attackers accessed, how a US government agency got involved, and what she changed in her personal and professional life afterward.

The conversation covers the real-world experience of being targeted by a nation-state actor, the gap between corporate and personal security, what it's like when a three-letter agency asks for access to your life, and how the experience shaped Amanda's approach as she moved into executive roles. Amanda also shares her perspective on resilience, including her cancer journey, and a practical framework for processing difficult experiences.

Hosts: Joe Patti and Adam Roth. Recorded March 14, 2026.

Luke Canfield has been building, flying, and hacking drones for years. In this episode, he walks us through the real intersection of drones and cybersecurity — war-flying attacks on financial institutions, cartel drone operations at the US-Mexico border, DIY drone building with no attribution, and why "security exists in three dimensions."
Topics covered:
War-flying: aerial man-in-the-middle attacks with drone-mounted Wi-Fi Pineapples
3 real cases of drone-based cyberattacks against financial institutions
Mexican cartels: 330+ drone incursions/day at the US border
Ukraine: how the conflict advanced drone tech by 15 years
Drone detection: RF tracking, acoustic sensors, radar, AI
FAA regulations and fines up to $100K
Disaster response: mesh networks and radio repeaters via drones
The coming Part 108 era and why a fake Amazon drone is the next attack vector
Guest: Luke Canfield — cybersecurity professional and drone security researcher
Learn more: https://www.lsechub.com
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