I once watched an episode of Law & Order with a friend who is an attorney. From the moment the action switched from the police to the prosecutors, he was tied up in knots, shouting at the screen all the inaccuracies in the way the courtroom proceedings were portrayed.
I feel the same way about hacking and computer security in the movies. In 1983’s “WarGames“, the US nuclear command is apparently connected to a modem anyone can dial. In 1996’s “Independence Day“, an Apple laptop is used to upload a virus to an alien computer system (quite an engineering feat on the fly!). And there’s a long litany of other movies where it’s not even possible to tell what the “hackers” are doing because the screen is filled with impossible jargon and pretty (but unrealistic) animation.
They’re not all bad. For example, 1983’s “Superman III,” while an awful movie, did reuse a famous bit of hackery, where a programmer siphoned all rounded fractional cents to a central account he then withdrew. And while the “Matrix Reloaded” (2003) was also awful, Trinity uses nmap and the screen references the real-world SSH CRC-32 vulnerability.
So up for discussion: what movie do you think portrays hacking most accurately…and which is the worst?
Please let us know in the comments below. Don’t forget to tell us why – we’ll be posting a summary of the most interesting comments in a future post!
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I also enjoy using LEBs! I have an empire of little guys for VPNs, larger guys for apps, and big guys for databases and storage. When I'm not in front a screen I'm into German Shepherd dogs, quality knives, target shooting, theology, tabletop roleplaying games, and forest hiking.
I enjoy writing technical articles here on LowEndBox to help people get more out of their systems. You can find me on LowEndTalk @raindog308
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Mr. Robot.
It’s the only time I’ve seen ‘actual’ hacking in a tv-show. All the others suck.
Hey, long time no see you!
I can’t talk about any particular movie, but for me it’s the Mr Robot series.
I think it’s the most accurate production portraying this particular tech topic. Probably it goes somewhat far because the plot with some ideal scenarios to accomplish that hacks, but I think it’s worth to watch it.
Hack is always an interesting topic that movie directors keep an eye on, this type is very attractive to viewers, because it is very scientific, logical, and very interesting.
Because it is so scientifically sound, logical, and fascinating, hack is a subject that movie directors are constantly interested in exploring.
Most hack movies aren’t true and the real hackers are also not so cool
enjoy writing technical articles here on LowEndBox