Cyber Security

at the Cinema
by Adrian Mikeliunas, CISSP, CLP
amikeliunas@worldbank.org
 Agenda
 Movie Selection Criteria
 Overview of Cyber Security
 Top 7 Movie List
 Honorary Mentions
 Conclusion

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 Movies
 Movies provide
 Entertainment
 Education

 Many movies show how to:

 Break computer security,
 Hack, cheat, steal…

  Helps us get more prepared

  Work becomes more
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 Selection Criteria
 Hacker has to be one of the main
characters or movie ideas
 A Hacker is one who:
 is proficient at using or programming
a computer; a computer buff.
 uses programming skills to gain
illegal access to a computer network
or file
 Two or more cyber security events
in the movie (hacking, cracking, …)
 Cyber Security Events
 Bypass Access controls
 ID, Passwords, back doors, Biometrics
 Bypass Physical Security
 Personnel, Storage, Encryption
 Tamper Communications
 Electronic commerce, Mail, Documents
 Tamper Systems Development
 Change controls, malware protection,
crypto

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 What is Cyber Security?
 Computer Security [TECHNOLOGY]
 Access & Passwords
 Hacking / Cracking
 Viruses, Worms, & Trojans

 Social Engineering [HUMAN]

 Personal Information
 Medical Records
 Personnel & Financial data
 Spam, Scams & Phishing

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 Weakest Security Link
 Human Element?

 Computer Element?

 Both?
 Top Cyber Security
Movies
 War Games
 Hackers
 The Net
 Matrix Trilogy
 Sneakers
 Tron
 War Games-1983
 A young man finds a back door into a
military central computer in which
reality is confused with game-
playing, possibly starting World War
III
 The main debate is: should humans be
in charge of launching a nuclear strike
or should a (fail safe) computer decide?
 Simple special effects, but realistic for
that time. Movie grossed $75M.
 War Games-(2)
 War Dialing: kids wants to connect to
game company
 Back Door: modem access was for
developer
 Easy to guess Password: Joshua
 Denial of Service: play tic-tac-toe to
prove that in a nuclear war nobody
wins!
 The Net-1995
 Angela Bennett is a software engineer
working from home in Reston
 A client sends her a game program with a
weird glitch for her to debug. On his way
to meet her, he’s killed in a plane crash
 Angela discovers secret information on
the disk she has received only hours
before she leaves for vacation.
 Her life then turns into a nightmare, her
records are erased from existence and
she is given a new identity, one with a
police record.
 The Net (2)
 Identity Theft has become #1
crime in the world
 Many commercial programs
contain Easter Eggs (or
backdoors) http://www.eeggs.com
 Angela uses a keylogger & virus
at the end to payback her
attackers
 Hackers-1995
 A young boy is arrested by the Secret Service
for writing a virus, and banned from using a
computer until his 18th birthday.
 Years later, he and his new-found friends
discover a plot to unleash a dangerous
computer virus, but must use their computer
skills to find the evidence while being
pursued by the Secret Service and the evil
computer genius behind the virus.
 Unreal special “hacking” effects!
 Hackers (2)
 Remote take over of other
computer systems
 TV Station
 School fire alarm system
 Corporate Mainframe

 Hacking in many instances

 Matrix-1999

 A group of rebels free Neo, a

computer hacker, in hope that he
can stop the Matrix, a computer
system that slaves mankind.
 In the second movie, Trinity uses
a special hacking tool: nmap
 Great Sci-Fi trilogy, many special
effects
 Matrix (2)
 Neo is a hacker who gets hacked
by Trinity in order to communicate
inside the Matrix
 Trinity shuts down the power
plant grid by exploiting an SSH
vulnerability
 He goes back in to fight the
agents and the Matrix, going out
via a regular phone line…
 Sneakers-1993

 Complex but lighthearted thriller

about computers and
cryptography, government and
espionage, secrets and deception
and betrayal.
 They recover a box that has the
capability to decode all existing
encryption systems around the
world
 TRON-1982

 A hacker is literally abducted into

the world of a computer and forced
to participate in gladiatorial games
where his only chance of escape is
with the help of a heroic security
program.
 TRON (trace on) defeats the MCP
(master control program) so his user
can retrieve the stolen video game
copyrights he owned.
 Honorable Mentions
 Swordfish
 The Italian Job
 Catch me if you can
 Take Down
 Independence Day
 Gathaka
 Charlie’s Angels
 Swordfish-2001
 The D.E.A. shut down its dummy
corporation operation codenamed
SWORDFISH in 1986, with $400M…
 The world's most dangerous spy is hired
by the CIA to coerce a computer hacker
recently released from prison to help
steal billions in unused government
funds, but it's all locked away behind
super-encryption.
 Takedown-2000
 Kevin Mitnick is quite possibly the most well
known hacker in the world
 Hunting for more and more information,
seeking more and more cybertrophies every
day, he constantly looks for bigger
challenges
 When he breaks into the computer of a
security expert and an ex-hacker, he finds
one - and much more than that...
 Conclusion
 Cyber Security is always under
attack, prevention can help
 Protect your password
 Protect your company information
assets & your personal
information
 Get informed & Get Involved!
 New Information Security Policy
http://infosec
 New Information Security Training
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