What is the relationship between the world of cinema and the world of hackers? Sometimes good, sometimes bad: never as in the case of hacking, the compromise between realism and fiction it involves large and painful cuts in the narrative of the true techniques used by computer and network wizards. So much so that movies do much better when it comes to the life, rather than the (often “dirty”) work of a hacker.
Here are the top 10 works that pass some sort of penetration test of realism, listed in chronological order.
The Italian Job (1969/2003)
There is only one scene, which, however, ends up by right this jewel among the magnificent ten. And it is true both in the case of the original work (that of 1969), and in the remake of 2003. In both cases, it is the scene of a maxi accident induced by the traffic light system sent haywire. Obviously, it is a trick of thieves: in the 60s with what was there at the time, in the 2000s with a good dose of hacking. To all intents and purposes, the first cinematic appearance of hacking against Internet of Things devices. And a warning for the future.
WarGames (1983)
He is the absolute pioneer in the field of Hollywood hacking. Released almost 40 years ago, that is a couple of geological eras ago in the IT field, today it is a little smile to look at the technologies shown, which however were consistent with those of the time. WarGames tells about a world on the brink of thermonuclear war, triggered by kids particularly skilled with computer science and with too much free time available. Basically, the idea of hackers at the time was just that. Apart from archaic technologies, it is a film that makes the thrill of launching a hacker attack palpable.
The Scam Lords (1992)
A penetration test agency as the protagonist, cyber intrusions and crimes, cryptographic techniques and systems to decode them. Phil Alden Robinson’s film (with Robert Redford) is a concentrate of hacking, hackers and related techniques as they have rarely been seen in the history of cinema. All this, however, is proposed with a very realistic and natural vision. A film with 2 levels of reading: a fun pastime with people fiddling with computers; a great example of structured and planned hacking activities in detail.
Hackers (1995)
The then very young Jonny Miller and Angelina Jolie find themselves entangled in an intricate story where, for the first and perhaps only time in the world of cinema, the focus is more on the hacker community than on the prodigies of the individual. In this sense, Hackers proves to be innovative and prophetic, also due to the use of superfine social engineering techniques. Someone criticizes the excessive spectacularization of the underground world, but from a film born when the Internet was still an almost unknown object, there was nothing different to expect.
Independence Day (1996)
One of the most popular sci-fi colossals by the general public, finds the main narrative junction in hacking: what to do against a ruthless and seemingly unbeatable alien race, who finds a safe home in his mother ship? Maybe attack the latter? Not even for a dream: the protagonists package an ad hoc malware which they then load into the ship’s operating system, putting it out of action and starting the land counter-offensive. As simple and brief as it is, in the film’s economy, this gesture contains all the power and impact of a real hacker attack.
23 (1998)
Virtually unknown German film, not to be confused with the terrible flop The Number 23 with Jim Carrey, takes (a little off) one story linked to the Chaos Computer Club. What is it about? Of one of the most famous and historic hacker groups on the planet, born in 1981 and which today boasts over 7700 members. It has a rather mundane plot, but it is imbued with hacker techniques and does nothing to make them digestible to those who know little. And this, for those looking for material on the subject, is excellent news.
In Ascolto – The Listening (2006)
An unknown Italian film, it does not focus entirely on hacking, but finds several interesting expedients to transform the delicate subject of wiretapping in an exciting spy story. A global interception system and its abuse are at the center of a well-constructed story that shows not so much the hackers, but one of their main objectives: the fight against surveillance.
Millennium – Men Who Hate Women (2011)
Whether you read it as a novel, see it in the original Swedish version or in the American adaptation, the substance does not change: a gripping thriller in which the protagonist, Lisbeth Salander, is a skilled hacker ready to discover the truth with her IT and investigative skills. In the film, real hacking tools are used and above all some stereotypes related to this world are cleared once and for all: hackers do not necessarily have to be losers, they can have many tattoos and, above all, they can be women. And thank goodness.
Blackhat (2015)
It is probably the most underrated film when it comes to hacking, yet it has everything it takes to pique the interest of the mere viewer and satisfy the desire for realism of the most expert in the field. For example, a computer intrusion into a nuclear power plant (who winks hard at the Stuxnet case), a hacker on the side of the bad guys and one to hunt him down while he’s beset with inner conflicts.
Mr. Robot (2015)
It is natural to find him on this list, thanks to the excellent work of the production team, which not surprisingly made use of the advice of real hackers and cyber-security experts. Especially in the first few episodes, this series shows the perfect balance between using pure hacking techniques and social engineering, seasoning everything with touches of class such as techniques based on the use of gadgets (infected keys, Arduino circuits and so on). After the initial feast he gets lost a bit too much with inner monologues and paranoia, and this, after so much abundance, annoys a bit.
.