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The headlines in the news are filled with cybercrime, whether it is government online services being disabled or a company’s data leaked. Hollywood has foreseen this future for decades. With popular TV shows like Mr. Robot and Black Mirror having gotten more attention over recent years, the topic of cybersecurity also takes center stage in pop culture. However, Hollywood has its own perspective on it and is known for dramatizing cybersecurity scenes. We all have seen scenes that often include suspenseful music and hundreds of people, including the president of the United States, panicking about a firewall being hacked.
Despite well researched tv shows such as “Mr. Robot” are and interesting a lot of these scenes may seem, they’re out of touch from reality, and hardly represent what it’s like. By default, movies and TV shows are designed to keep the viewer engaged, and even as IT professionals, we can't take our eyes off the screen when these scenes appear on our television.
Hollywood is known for their tropes, which are sometimes exaggerated to fit a specific stereotype or narrative in order to appeal to the viewer. Let us look at some of the commonly used stereotypes that Hollywood uses to entertain us or make some of us roll their eyes once in a while:
Multi-system hacking
The most common stereotype of hacking in movies is multi-system hacking into an entire company's or government institution's systems. This is rarely the situation outside of Hollywood. In fact, human error is responsible for 82% of cybersecurity breaches, and phishing emails are one of the most common cyberattacks affecting businesses. But employees accidentally clicking on an email they shouldn't have or leaking private data to someone they believe is their manager doesn’t make for a box office hit movie.
It takes a second for your network to recover
Movies make it appear that a cyberattack can be resolved in less than an hour with a few lines of code – and we wish that was true. However, these attacks take an average of 277 days (9 months) to identify, and some businesses never recover due to a lack of a recovery plan in place.
Only big organizations can be attacked
When you watch these movies, you may believe that small to medium-sized businesses are safe. However, when it comes to avoiding cyberattacks, bigger is apparently better. At least that’s according to a new report that shows small businesses are three times more likely to be targeted by cybercriminals than larger companies.
Between January 2021 and December 2021, researchers analyzed millions of emails across thousands of companies. They found that, on average, an employee of a small business with less than 100 employees will experience 350% more social engineering attacks than an employee of a larger enterprise.
Coding is the only way to protect yourself from cybercriminals
In movies and TV shows, we often see dramatic scenes of frantic typing and key slamming as a last-ditch effort to prevent cybercriminals from infiltrating networks and causing disruptions. Movies like "Swordfish" entertain us with scenarios where hackers perform their tasks under extreme circumstances. However, this reactive approach, where organizations respond only after a breach has been detected, is far from the ideal strategy.
In the real world, such a reactive approach is inadequate, primarily due to the lengthy process of identifying the root cause of a security issue, which can span weeks. Prevention is key and consistent threat hunting a tool to avoid crisis management.
The importance of IT professionals and the global awareness of the lack thereof have underlined the current and future demand for cybersecurity talent. The world is increasingly dependent on the knowledge and skills of technology experts, a shift that might have been unexpected in the past but is hardly a concern in Hollywood's futuristic portrayals.
To dive deeper into Hollywood’s view of cybersecurity, let's take a closer look at certain portrayals available on your Netflix or other streaming services’ playlist.
1. “Ghost in A Shell” (1995) - An Existential Crisis Never Looked Better
Ghost in the Shell is a Japanese animated cyberpunk film directed by Mamoru Oshii. The movie takes the viewer into a future where humans can augment their bodies with cybernetic enhancements. The story follows Major Motoko Kusanagi, a human-machine hybrid whose construction is shown during the film’s opening credits, as she investigates a mysterious hacker known as the Puppet Master, who can hack humans as well as machines. The film takes place in a near future in which humans have begun to merge with machines. Limbs are upgraded with weaponry and other special functions; eyes are replaced with powerful computer-enhanced sensors; minds and memories are expanded via external storage technology.
Director Mamoru Oshii wanted a piece that portrayed the “influence and power of computers” by looking at how this influence and power might evolve over time. The movie has had a significant influence on the sci-fi genre, inspiring numerous works that explore the intersection of technology and humanity. It also has been recognized for its philosophical depth, stunning visuals, and pioneering role in the anime industry.
2. "Mr. Robot" (2015-2019) - Hacking, Hoodies, and a Dose of Reality
The series, which aired for four seasons between 2015 and 2019, followed Elliot, portrayed by Emmy winner Rami Malek, who was a singularly talented man —a hacker so disconnected from modern life and anyone else that functioning in most social situations seemed beyond his reach.
“Mr. Robot” was all about hacking and thus filled with scenes of someone typing furiously at a computer, which back then had been a showstopper for realistic drama. But Sam Esmail, the mastermind and creator of the show, knew about coding, and thus hacking, and so each episode felt real. It wasn’t just typing. The voiceover that was being used was essential, adding layers to the complex coding. It sped up adrenaline and made the typing dramatic.
3. "Black Mirror, Season 6” (2023) - Social Media Meets Human Clone and Cybercrime
Across six seasons, Black Mirror has fearlessly explored a spectrum of technological dilemmas, diving deep into everything from artificial intelligence to cyber-clones. Its latest season adheres to the familiar yet introduces new elements. Unlike its past focus on technology's havoc, this time, it probes society's self-inflicted scars. Season six proofs that the creators of Black Mirror excel in its dystopian narratives and that tinkering too much with this successful formula might impact the show’s future success.
4. "Sneakers" (1992) - Espionage with a Side of Wit
Sneakers, directed by Phil Alden Robinson, blends thriller, comedy, and heist elements in a post-Cold War setting, following a San Francisco-based counter-security team stumbling upon a device with the ability to crack any U.S. government code—an almost futuristic concept. Or not so much? Penned by Lawrence Lasker and Walter F. Parkes, known for "WarGames," the film echoes concerns about government perils intertwined with technology. Yet, amidst these themes, there's an undeniable fascination with the allure of this technological prowess.
The movie is a place where technology remains both captivating and a touch nerdy, as highlighted in the portrayal of Stephen Tobolowsky's character as a 'computer dater,' evoking a slightly forlorn sentiment. "Sneakers" offers a retreat to a somewhat familiar realm—a world where technology is awe-inspiring yet devoid of the modern digital chaos we've grown accustomed to today.
5. "Hackers" (1995) - Cyberpunk Rebels and Outlandish Outfits
The standout feature of Hackers is its distinctive style. This 1995 tech-crime thriller, led by Angelina Jolie, ventures to portray a genuine phenomenon through a flashy and intricate lens. However, the movies attempt to fictionalize reality has a mixed outcome. From the get-go, the improbable scenarios and heavy technobabble easily feel like a cartoonish portrayal of hacking—an escapade tailored for '90s adolescents who were embracing the idea of empowerment through taking control.
Yet, much like real hacking isn't just frantic typing amid cascading numbers, Hackers isn't merely a subpar tech movie. It has reached an almost cult classic status and is highly embraced for its unique visuals. While the hacking itself might not align with reality, the film creates a captivating world and is undeniably entertaining. For many fans of Hackers, this entertainment value is more than sufficient to appreciate and enjoy Hackers.
It is obvious that Hollywood's representation of cybersecurity and hacking over the last few decades has often deviated from reality, yet it has also served as a reminder of technology's dual essence: it both empowers and entertains us while presenting inherent risks and complexities.
In a world increasingly reliant on technology, these movies and TV series become catalysts for discussions concerning the ethical ramifications of our interconnected digital existence. Although they amplify situations for effect, they are able to spark dialogues essential for comprehending the evolution of current or future technologies.
