As more and more blockbusters and TV shows alike ventured in the ambitious journey of depicting the mysterious, yet ever so intriguing hacker universe, it was to be expected that some productions would perform better than others. That being said, this week’s article takes you through the Top 5 worst cybersecurity cinematic references. It is our conviction that, perhaps, by showcasing these examples here, this could actually turn out to be an educational post (for some).

1. Hacking on and off-screen
Everything you can imagine is real. But is it, really? In the recent years, cybersecurity borders have been largely
outstretched and pop references did not fall much behind. Wait, scratch that. Not only did cinematic producers keep
close tabson the evolutionof technologywiththe dawnof the internet,theyevensometimesfoundthemselvesonthe
brinkof predictingfuture trends(the Internetof Things wastheireasiestguess).Othertimes,let’sjustsaytheyran out
of luck and their imagination wentwaaay overboard. A bit of advice: good fiction doesn’t alwayshave to stray that far
away from the truth.
As more and more blockbustersandTV shows alike venturedinthe ambitiousjourneyof depictingthe mysterious,yet
eversointriguinghackeruniverse,itwastobe expectedthatsome productionswouldperformbetterthanothers. That
beingsaid,thisweek’sarticle takesyouthroughthe Top5 worstcybersecuritycinematicreferences.Itisourconviction
that, perhaps, by showcasing these examples here, this could actually turn out to be an educational post (for some).
#1 The ‘two on a keyboard’ scene
At some pointin time,Hollywoodproducersseemed toall agree that hacking,the complex act of gainingunauthorized
access to data ina systemorcomputer,needstobe fast. Really fast. Asif,if you’re not typingfastenough,the datawill
justrun awayfrom you.The navy cop series NCISshowsyoujusthow heatedsucha cyber-race can get.Not typingfast
enough?Then,byall means,let’stype the bothof us. And thenan infinite amountof windowswillopenonthe screen.
How would that even work?
#2 The ‘I am invincible’ scene
BorisGrishenkoisaRussianhackerportrayedbyScottishactorAlanCumminginthe movie GoldenEye.Onthe one hand,
he is a talented computer hacker, but on the other, he is also a backstabbing,arrogant misogynist.Believing everyone
else is beneath him, he shouts out "I am invincible!" whenever he succeeds. This is one of movie makers’ favorite
stereotype ever: hackers are God with Internet. That is, when they’re not too busy portraying them as nerdy social
outcasts.
#3 The ‘oh, there’s malware’ scene
We getthat everythingontelevisionhasto be simplifiedforthe viewertoquicklygraspthe story,but thisgreencode /
red code scene in CSI: Cyberis justtoo much. As the name so subtly indicates,thisTV seriesisabouttwothings:(1) the
CSI (a team of crime scene investigators) and (2) cybersecurity (or at least, some approximate perception of it). With a
reputationof over-exaggeratingthe capabilitiesof amere hackbasedonisolatedeventssuchasthis one,CSI:Cybersets
the bar at all time lowasit triesalmosttoohard to pinthe tail on the cybersecuritydonkey. Whereasflashinglightsand
special effects are cool and all that, highlighting the malware in red in the middle of a screen filled with green linesof
code is,to put it bluntly,absolutelyridiculous.If it where that easyto detecta malware,thenwhy are we not all using
this magical bi-color solution?
#4 The ‘Deus Ex Machina’ scene
ThisSeptember,the teenagemovie‘Nerve’came out.Whilethe ideaof Internetanonymitywaswellexecuted,once the
maincharacter, Vee,entersthe final stage of the game, the storyline spills all overthe place.Suddenly,Tommy,one of
Vee’s best friends, a rookie-hacker, steps in as the convenient Deus Ex Machina that saves the plot. Tommy suddenly
reveals his connections with an influential hacker group that manages to stop the game (in less that 3 minutes) by
revealing all watchers’ identities. Oh, well. At least the botnet looked pretty.

2. #5 The ‘kill the virus’ scene
We’ve savedthe bestforlastandit’sdefinitelythe 1995 classic‘Hackers’.Itcrossesof ourlistall the previousclichésand
addsina newone:the video gamedimension.Yes,inthismovie,the kernel isanactual control towerandvirusesare 3D
evil charactersthatgetto be blastedoff withraysof code.Now,we know thatsometimescyber-threatsare soannoying
that nothingwouldgive usmore pleasure thatto destroythem, butthe screenwritersof Hackers mighthave takenthe
word ‘destroy’ too literally.
It becomes clear by this pointinour article that hackingis not a WAMBAM PUFFkind ofactivity. But it’salso obvious
thatnobodywill sitdownfor2 straighthourswatchingsomeonetype,notred,not green,butregular codeona screen.
Hacking can be a painstakinglyslowprocess, yet there are ways that movies and TV series can fit this notionof time
in their plot. One such example and one of our favorites at the moment is, of course, Mr. Robot.
Inspiring real-life hackers to cyber-mischief
“But I'm only a vigilante hacker by night.
By day, just a regular cybersecurity engineer. Employee number ER28-0652”
— Elliot Alderson, about himself
The storystarts withour main character, Elliot,beingrecruitedintoaband of undergroundhackersbyMr. Robot(a.k.a
the group leader).Sufferingfromsocial anxiety,aswell asa drug addiction,what’sinterestingaboutElliotisthe duality
within him. He’s not really able to connect with other people, but he sure knows a lot about them since he, to put it
bluntly, spies on them.
At the confluence between resentment against a superfluous world and the behind-the-scenes peak inside the hacker
universe, here are a few reasons why Mr. Robot makes for a great watch for those cyber-aficionados:
 It’salmosttooreal at times.Andthe reasonitseemsthatwayisbecause,accordingtothe show’screators,the TV
seriesonlyadherestohacks that have alreadyhappenedandthat have beendiligentlystudied.Forinstance,the
way the smart home in S02E01 is depicted was enough to send chills down our spines. There were no flashing
lightsorvideogamesgraphicsinvolved,instead,Mr.Robotreliedon quaint,multipleactionsinordertodrive the
house owner off the edge (blasting the music in the speakers out loud, turning off the thermostat and so on).
 It has a goodtempo.There’sno5-secondshackand that issomethingthatthe cybersecurityexpert communityis
highlyappreciative of.NotonlydoesMr. Robot respectthe accuracy of a certaincyber-attack,butthe showalso
manages to give the impression of tediousness, each new hack being carried out in time.
 There are no stereotypes,justavividawarenessof the humannature.Elliot’sattentiontothe personbehindthe
machine is dauntingandservesas a propellerforhissocial engineeringtechniques.Once again,enterpriseswith
strong securityarchitecturesare compromisednotbecause of applicationvulnerabilities,butbecause of another
type of vulnerability all together – man.
What makesthisproductioninterestinginthe endistheinsightitprovidesintothe psychological profileof ahacker(and
not only).Withthe Season2 finale airing thisweekaroundthe world,Mr.Robot concludesyetanothergreatchapterin
the hacker thriller genre. So much so that it’s inspired it’s very own ransomware, named after the group of hacker
vigilantes led by Mr. Robot himself – fsociety.
Link: https://www.reveelium.com/en/hacking-on-and-off-screen/