cyber.hendryadrian.com
Interesting Stuff · huntress.com

Hollywood Hacking Scenes: What Films and TV Get Right and Wrong

· Original article ↗

Summary

A Huntress webinar recap examines hacking scenes in film and TV, highlighting realistic depictions of IT scams, ransomware, and hacker tools alongside technical inaccuracies.

Key points

  • The Beekeeper depicts an IT support scam involving a malware pop-up, scammers using a call center, remote monitoring software, and access to a victim's accounts.
  • The Good Doctor portrays ransomware disrupting hospital medication systems and patient care, with attackers waiting for backups to sync before encrypting them.
  • The Matrix Reloaded shows Nmap being used to identify running services and references an SSH vulnerability; the article says there is no evidence its named script existed.
  • Skyfall mixes x86 assembly with JavaScript and presents other implausible hacking visuals, despite including some recognizable technical details.
  • The Social Network's Capture the Flag scene includes plausible server access, but the article notes that recovering a website's private key would not necessarily enable decryption of past traffic when Perfect Forward Secrecy is used.
  • Bones' depiction of malware carved into bone is fictional, although the article notes that malware can be embedded in files and can cause physical effects.

Article Details

Topic
The accuracy of Hollywood hacking scenes, including depictions of IT scams, ransomware, malware, exploitation, and capture-the-flag events.

People

Greg LinaresHuntress Principal Threat Intelligence Analyst who participated in the Tradecraft Tuesday discussion of Hollywood hacking scenes.John HylandHuntress Principal Software Engineer who participated in the Tradecraft Tuesday discussion of Hollywood hacking scenes.Matt KielyHuntress Principal Security Researcher who participated in the Tradecraft Tuesday discussion of Hollywood hacking scenes.

Malware

StuxnetAnd real-world malware can also cause physical changes portrayed by the scene (when malware turns off the fan), as we’ve seen with Stuxnet destroying centrifuges in Iran's nuclear program.

Products

Pyxisof the realistic challenges that hospitals face when they’re hit by ransomware, like the impact on the Pyxis system, which helps healthcare professionals dispense the right medications to the right patients at the

Tools

Metasploit FrameworkRobot is a shining example: it includes everything from Metasploit to mimikatz, and features some truly poetic monologues from Rami Malek’s Elliot: “At my fingertips the zero day is wrapped in code like a ChristmasMimikatzRobot is a shining example: it includes everything from Metasploit to mimikatz, and features some truly poetic monologues from Rami Malek’s Elliot: “At my fingertips the zero day is wrapped in code like a ChristmasNmapThe Matrix Reloaded: SSH and nmap = 👌

Countries

IranAnd real-world malware can also cause physical changes portrayed by the scene (when malware turns off the fan), as we’ve seen with Stuxnet destroying centrifuges in Iran's nuclear program.

Industries

Healthcarethat hospitals face when they’re hit by ransomware, like the impact on the Pyxis system, which helps healthcare professionals dispense the right medications to the right patients at the right times.

Related Articles