What Can TV and Film Teach Us About Cybersecurity and Data Protection?

While cybersecurity is a popular topic these days, it hasn’t always been at the forefront of colloquial conversations. In fact, there’s a good chance that you first heard about or witnessed a cybersecurity-adjacent situation in a movie or TV show.

Whether it’s an evil hacker trying to control the government or a group of con-people disrupting security feeds to carry out a bank heist, cyberattacks and data breaches are popular fodder for film and television...likely because they are suspenseful and mysterious, but also because they play on many folks’ very real fears of having their personal information compromised or security systems breached.

However, just like with many other topics movies explore, Hollywood doesn’t always portray cybersecurity in the most realistic way. We’re here to break down some scenes and plotlines from pop culture that do have something to teach us about keeping our data safe. And who better to do that than ADT Cybersecurity’s Senior Director of Technology and Solutions, Ron Culler.

Read on as Ron analyzes a sampling of his favorite cybersecurity scenarios from TV and film to debunk whether or not they’re realistic, and share real learnings about how folks can keep their data protected, spot hacks and data breaches in their many forms.

Situation 1: Grey’s Anatomy Hospital Hack

In the most recent midseason finale of popular medical drama Grey’s Anatomy, Grey Sloan Memorial Hospital is hacked for ransomware. Essentially, cybercriminals hack into a hospital’s digital system and halt all services and access to patient data until the hospital pays the cybercriminals an (typically very high) amount of money or bitcoin. Let’s see what Ron has to say about it.

Could this really happen?

This pop culture scenario is not only accurate, but also incredibly topical—cyberattacks on hospitals for patient data have actually increased since the onset of the coronavirus pandemic according to USA Today [1]. Hospitals are a prime target for hackers because they deal with human lives and rely on technology to care for their patients. When a hospital hacker strikes, not only can sensitive patient information be leaked, but lives could be lost. This extra level of urgency makes medical centers more desirable targets for hackers, which is likely why more than 80% of medical practices have been the victims of cyberattacks, according to a national survey [2]. While some organizations are actively targeted by hackers who exploit weaknesses in their cybersecurity defenses to take data hostage, an employee clicking a link in a phishing email still accounts for the majority of hospital ransomware attacks.

How to make sure it doesn’t happen to you.

The key takeaway: think before you click and report any suspicious emails. I won’t share any spoilers to the Grey’s Anatomy episode, but given this information, you could understand why Grey Sloan Memorial Chief of Surgery Dr. Bailey wants to give into the hackers’ demands.

Watch the episode for yourself to see how it all plays out!

Situation 2: Phishing in Ocean’s 8

In Ocean’s 8, Rihanna plays the part of hacker “NineBall” who uses phishing to gain access to security cameras at the Met Museum to help carry out a heist. To create a security camera blind spot by the women’s restroom at the museum, NineBall sends the CEO of the security company a phishing email after finding his public Facebook page and learning about his obsession with Wheaten Terriers. With this information, NineBall creates a phishing advertisement for a Wheaten Terrier dog show and posts it on the CEO’s timeline. The CEO clicks the link to the advertisement, giving NineBall access to his computer. From there, she downloads all the files she needs from his computer to build that security camera blindspot.

Could this really happen?

For those thinking the CEO of a security company would never fall for a phishing scam or other cyberattack, this movie moment accurately shows how it can happen to anyone. With the right kind of personal information, any scam can look legitimate and any individual can become a victim.

How to make sure it doesn’t happen to you.

To avoid falling victim to phishing, consumers should remain vigilant and be on the lookout for suspicious images and attachments, a web or email address that does not look genuine and spelling or design mistakes in email or advertisement language or images. This includes those innocent-looking social media quizzes that request personal information like your pet’s name, the city you were born in, etc., as they are often used by phishers to gather more background for a targeted attack. In the end, phishers do their best to get everything right, but if you pay close enough attention, you’ll be able to identify their blindspots.

Situation 3: Infrastructure Data Hack in Skyfall

Fun fact: Skyfall is the only Bond movie (so far) in which the villain uses cyberhacking as his main evil weapon. In the 2012 film, evil hacker Silva broke into MI6’s infrastructure to take control of the building’s gas system and cause a deadly explosion.

Could this really happen?

The plausibility of this scenario is complicated: while software can destroy and compromise machinery that may lead to an explosion, it is highly unlikely. That said, there have been instances of computers being used by the military to compromise infrastructure in other countries. For example, the Stuxnet computer worm [3], discovered in 2010, is most likely responsible for crippling a number of Iranian uranium enrichment centrifuges. While Stuxnet did not cause an explosion, it did infect software in a way that led to key hardware breakdowns.

How to make sure it doesn’t happen to you.

The key real-world takeaway here is that convenience can give rise to risk—the more we computer-enable our homes and businesses, the more we need to pay attention to cybersecurity.

It’s heartening to see cybersecurity issues depicted accurately in films and TV, as a way to shed light on and spread awareness of their prevalence. Once we begin to understand how, when, and why cyberattacks can occur, we can take the necessary steps to prevent them from happening in the first place. Hollywood still has a long way to go in depicting cyber attacks and cybersecurity as they really are, but they’re getting there!

As always, knowledge is power—and it’s especially true with issues of cybersecurity. Whether it’s your business or personal information, ADT is here to help you take the first step in protecting your assets against hackers. Head to our site to review our list of products, services and expert advice that can help stop cyberattacks in their tracks—and offer you, your family and your businesses much-needed peace of mind!

Sources:

[1] https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/health/2020/07/12/hospitals-see-rise-patient-data-hacking-attacks-during-covid-19/5403402002/

[2] https://www.ama-assn.org/delivering-care/patient-support-advocacy/medical-cybersecurity-patient-safety-issue

[3] https://www.wired.com/2014/11/countdown-to-zero-day-stuxnet/