Ep. 80 – Vampire Satellites, Stolen Wine & the Shamoon Cyberattack // Chris Kubecka

In today's episode, James Maude dives into the world of cyber warfare, espionage, and hacked satellites with the legendary Chris Kubecka—aka the "Chief Hacktress." From grounding overconfident pilots as one of the first female C-5 loadmasters, to investigating mysterious “vampire satellites” that silently disable spacecraft, Chris has lived a life straight out of a cyber-thriller.

She recounts her front-line role in the aftermath of the Shamoon cyberattack, one of the most destructive digital assaults in history, which wiped 35,000 systems at Saudi Aramco and sent shockwaves across global security circles. Plus: embassy cyber drama, Turkish spies posing as English students, Yemeni drones with a grudge, and how AI is now a tool in her mission to expose and disrupt digital authoritarianism.

And yes, we also talk about why your boat is a terrifying floating IoT vulnerability.