Hacker Cinema
Zero Days
2016 · Film · documentary · 116 min
Directed by Alex Gibney
Alex Gibney explores the phenomenon of Stuxnet, a self-replicating computer virus discovered in 2010 by international IT experts. Evidently commissioned by the US and Israeli governments, this malware was designed to specifically sabotage Iran’s nuclear programme. However, the complex computer worm ended up not only infecting its intended target but also spreading uncontrollably.
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Anyone remembers stuxnet? Apparently part of a US and Israel joint operation called Olympic Games [1].
In the documentary Zero Days some anonymous source mentions there was another project within Olympic Games called Nitro Zeus[2]. This was a complete takeover of Iran's infrastructure.
I wonder if these hacks we're seeing are the remains of Nitro Zeus.
[1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Operation_Olympic_Games
[2] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nitro_Zeus
No wonder they got into Natanz with stuxnet.
I recommend the documentary Zero Days from 2016 to anyone remotely interested on this.
"Let’s compare how the U.S. responded to the Ukraine war in the physical world versus in the cyber domain. As part of NATO, the U.S. is clear: It doesn’t want to see boots on the ground. But in the cyber domain, the U.S.’s offensive activities are ongoing?"
A few weeks ago I saw Zero Days, which is a good documentary on Stuxnet and it's pretty wild just to what extent tools in that domain are out of the purview of the public. Offensive capabilities that amount to acts of war seemingly have no democratic oversight, and even an ex-director of the NSA thought the amount of classification of materials went too far. Very few people were willing to speak at all to the filmmakers even years after it had already blown over.
Whether its some sort of dystopian privatized policing by Palantir or tools used by three letter agencies, what the article warns of has arguably already arrived a decade ago.
Have anyone seen the documentary about stuxnet (Zero Days, 2016)? It's incredible.
On the documentary, they mention another virus which was supposed to be even worse than Stuxnet, the project name was Nitro Zeus.
On the contrary, changing equipment may actually help quite a bit when dealing with the NSA. The 2016 documentary "Zero Days" which was centered around the creation of Stuxnet showed that the NSA targeted specific hardware models to look for security holes. They had to buy matching hardware themselves and rigorously try to break it which took time and wasn't trivial to do
Here is a list of 20 documentaries I have come to love and return to when I come across them. There is no specific order to them. Enjoy! The * next to the number indicates the last 4 years. If you have seen one listed that you'd like to share what you think about please leave a comment with this structure [# in the list ] Comment... . i.e. [1] Loved learning about Noyce. What a guy.
1. Silicon Valley: Where the Future | PBS: American Experience [1:23:19] [2013] History of the how Silicon Valley came to be. William Shockley. Robert Noyce. Fairchild Semiconductor, The Traitorous Eight. Homepage: https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/americanexperience/films/silicon/ Kanopy: https://www.kanopy.com/en/product/122744 Where to Watch: https://www.justwatch.com/us/movie/silicon-valley
2. Shenzhen: The Silicon Valley of Hardware | Wired UK: Future Cities [1:07:50] [2016] the evolution of “Shanzhai” – or copycat manufacturing – has transformed traditional models of business, distribution and innovation, and asks what the rest of the world can learn from this so-called “Silicon Valley of hardware". Youtube: https://youtu.be/SGJ5cZnoodY
*2.1. The People's Republic of The Future | Bloomberg: Hello World [30:10] [2019] Shenzhen, tech-fueled entrepreneurs try to navigate an authoritarian regime. Youtube: https://youtu.be/taZJblMAuko
3. The Pirate Bay Away From Keyboard | TPB AFK [1:22:07] [2013] The history of the Pirate Bay. Torrenting. Legal. Privacy. Homepage: https://tpbafk.tv Youtube: https://youtu.be/eTOKXCEwo_8 Where to Watch: https://www.justwatch.com/us/movie/the-pirate-bay-away-from-keyboard
4. Can’t Get You Out of My Head | BBC [6 Part] [2021] Adam Curtis takes you on "An Emotional history of how we got to this place." Economics. History. Power. Psychology. World. China. Russia. UK. USA. Part 1: Bloodshed on Wolf Mountain [1:14:15] Part 2: Shooting and F*king are the Same Thing [1:14:01] Part 3: Money Changes Everything [1:10:36] Part 4: But What If the People Are Stupid? [1:13:29] Part 5: The Lordly Ones [1:05:43] Part 6: Are We Pigeon? Or Are We Dancer? [1:59:50] Homepage: https://www.bbc.com/bbcfilm/films/cant-get-you-out-of-my-head/ BBC iPlayer: https://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episodes/p093wp6h/cant-get-you-out-of-my-head Thought Maybe: https://thoughtmaybe.com/cant-get-you-out-of-my-head/
5. Three Identical Strangers | NEON [1:37:00] [2018] Its in the name, but The less you know about this story the better. Homepage: https://www.threeidenticalstrangers.com Kanopy: https://www.kanopy.com/en/product/11374410 Where to Watch: https://www.justwatch.com/us/movie/three-identical-strangers
6. The Pharmacist | Netflix [4 Part] [2020] A small-town pharmacist investigates the death of his son in a drug deal, but his investigation skills only expands when OxyContin becomes available. Part 1: Justice for Danny [1:00:38] Part 2: A Mission from God [58:47] Part 3: Dope Dealers with White Lab Coats [47:30] Part 4: Tunnel of Hope [48:31] Homepage: https://thecinemart.com/the-pharmacist.html Netflix: https://www.netflix.com/title/81002576 Where to Watch: https://www.justwatch.com/us/tv-show/the-pharmacist
7. AlphaGo | Netflix [1:30:27] [2017] Deepmind, Alphabets's AI company, creates an AI to play the game Go and faces off to beat the best, Lee Sedol. Homepage: https://www.alphagomovie.com Youtube: https://youtu.be/WXuK6gekU1Y Where to Watch: https://www.justwatch.com/us/movie/alphago
8. Page One: Inside the New York Times | Magnolia Pictures [1:31:38] [2011] As print media begins to be challenged by the internet, you get an inside look into NY Times. Homepage: http://www.magpictures.com/pageone/ Where to Watch: https://www.justwatch.com/us/movie/page-one-inside-the-new-york-times
9. The Secret of Tuxedo Park | PBS: American Experience [53:00] [2018] Alfred Lee Loomis isn't just a Wall Street tycoon, but a scientist with a checkbook to pay for it. Opening his home to the best, he follows his interest and a call from the government about WWII. Homepage: https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/americanexperience/films/secret-tuxedo-park/
10. The Century of the Self | BBC [4 Part] [2002] Adam Curtis investigates how Freudian theory influenced twentieth century society. Part 1: Happiness Machines [58:32] Part 2: The Engineering of Consent [58:40] Part 3: There is a Policeman Inside All Our Heads, He Must Be Destroyed [58:39] Part 4: Eight People Sipping Wine in Kettering [59:32] Homepage: https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p00ghx6g BBC iPlayer: https://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episodes/p00ghx6g/the-century-of-the-self Thought Maybe: https://thoughtmaybe.com/the-century-of-the-self/
11. How Ants Can Make The Internet a Safer Place | Tom Mishra [00:04:08] [2015] Five researchers, scientists and mathematicians studied the behavior of Ants and Game Theory to create a safer Internet. Video: https://vimeo.com/147548221
12. Chasing Einstein | Ignite [1:22:00] [2019] Follows leading scientists around the world, from the largest particle accelerator at CERN in Switzerland to the LIGO gravitational wave detector in the US to find out whether Einstein's theory of gravity can stand the test of time. Homepage: https://chasingeinsteinfilm.com Where to Watch: https://www.justwatch.com/us/movie/chasing-einstein
13. Language of Love (Ur kärlekens språk) | [1:43:00] [1969] * Rated X, and in Swedish A panel of real-life doctors discuss sexual hangups, misconceptions, personal prejudices and the ignorance of individuals when it comes to matters sexual. Where to Watch: https://www.justwatch.com/us/movie/language-of-love
14. Citizenfour | TWC [1:54:00] [2014] A documentarian and a reporter travel to Hong Kong to meet Edward Snowden where they release classified information. Homepage: https://citizenfourfilm.com Where to Watch: https://www.justwatch.com/us/movie/citizen-four
15. Abacus: Small Enough to Jail | PBS: Frontline [1:30:00] [2016] The Chinese immigrant Sung family, owners of Abacus Federal Savings of Chinatown, New York is targeted by the DA in the mess after the 2008 financial crisis. Homepage: https://www.abacusmovie.com Kanopy: https://www.kanopy.com/en/product/2141966 Where to Watch: https://www.justwatch.com/us/movie/abacus-small-enough-to-jail
16. Zero Days | Magnolia Pictures [1:56:00] [2016] Stuxnet, a self-replicating computer virus discovered in 2010 by international IT experts points to be created by the NSA and used by Unit 8200, Israel, on Iran nuclear enrichment facility. Homepage: http://www.zerodaysfilm.com Kanopy: https://www.kanopy.com/en/product/10846994 Where to Watch: https://www.justwatch.com/us/movie/zero-days
17. Tell Me Who I Am | Netflix [1:25:32] [2019] The less you know about this story the better. Netflix: https://www.netflix.com/title/80214706 Where to Watch: https://www.justwatch.com/us/movie/tell-me-who-i-am
18. McMillions | HBO [6 Part] [2020] A detailed account of the McDonald's Monopoly game scam during the 1990s. Part 1: Episode 1 [55:50] Part 2: Episode 2 [53:57] Part 3: Episode 3 [56:54] Part 4: Episode 4 [57:08] Part 5: Episode 5 [56:41] Part 6: Episode 6 [56:59] HBO: https://www.hbo.com/mc-millions Where to Watch: https://www.justwatch.com/us/tv-show/mcmillion
19. Jesus Camp | Magnolia Pictures [1:24:00] [2006] Children at a christian summer camp as they hone their "prophetic gifts" and are schooled in how to "take back America for christ." The film is a first-ever look into an intense training ground that recruits born-again christian children to become an active part of America's political future. Kanopy: https://www.kanopy.com/en/product/10803148 Where to Watch: https://www.justwatch.com/us/movie/jesus-camp
*20. The Edge of All We Know | Netflix [1:39:00] [2020] Follow the quest to understand the most mysterious objects in the universe, black holes. Homepage: https://www.blackholefilm.com Netflix: https://www.netflix.com/title/81343342 Where to Watch: https://www.justwatch.com/us/movie/black-holes-the-edge-of-all-we-know
"The Social Dilemma", what a great documentary showing how ad business, recommendations, attention grabbing works in social networks and how it impacts society, it basically shows "how sausage is made" and how it impacts the whole world and the risks associated with it https://www.imdb.com/title/tt11464826/?ref_=nv_sr_srsg_0
"Planet Earth II", breathtaking documentary about animal life on earth with extraordinary scenes https://www.imdb.com/title/tt5491994/?ref_=rt_li_tt
"Inside Job", documentary about 2008 crisis, masterpiece, narrated by Matt Damon. https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1645089/
"The Last Dance", I'm not a fan of basketball, it's a doc about Michael Jordan, one of the best docs I've seen, sounds boring but you can't wait to watch the next episode, recommended even if you don't watch sports like me, it's about extraordinary person/athlete and what it takes to be GOAT https://www.imdb.com/title/tt8420184/?ref_=rt_li_tt
"Zero Days", great doc about stuxnet exploit https://www.imdb.com/title/tt5446858/?ref_=rt_li_tt
"Human", what it is to be a human from different perspectives https://www.imdb.com/title/tt3327994/?ref_=rt_li_tt
"Over the Limit", documentary about olympic gymnastic and shows the price of winning at any cost. https://www.imdb.com/title/tt8184202/?ref_=rt_li_tt
"Life Story", beautiful doc about animals, great scenes https://www.imdb.com/title/tt4150884/?ref_=rt_li_tt
"Planet Earth", extraordinary scenes of animals lives https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0795176/?ref_=rt_li_tt
"Blue Planet II", like Planet Earth but in water https://www.imdb.com/title/tt6769208/?ref_=rt_li_tt
"Cosmos", doc about cosmos, nature of the world etc, very good https://www.imdb.com/title/tt2395695/?ref_=rt_li_tt
"The Tinder Swindler", "Posing as a wealthy, jet-setting diamond mogul, he wooed women online, then conned them out of millions of dollars." Surprisingly good https://www.imdb.com/title/tt14992922/?ref_=rt_li_tt
"The Farthest", about first human made object leaving our Solar system https://www.imdb.com/title/tt6223974/?ref_=rt_li_tt
"Our Planet", https://www.imdb.com/title/tt9253866/?ref_=rt_li_tt
"Cartel land" https://www.imdb.com/title/tt4126304/?ref_=rt_li_tt
Documentaries
- Citizenfour 2014: Actual interview between Glenn Greenwald and Edward Snowden
- Voyage of Time: Life's Journey 2016: Voyager probes development and deployment
- Zero Days 2016: The background story and effects from Stuxnet
Films
- The Challenger Disaster 2013: Dramatization of Richard Feynman and his investigative work of this event
- Batteries Not Included 1987: When mechanical-based lifeforms descend into NYC to help an elderly couple
- Pi 1998: Fun film with lots of computers and wiring
- I Am Mother 2019: Post-apocalyptic robotic "rejuvenation" of the human race
- Gravity 2013: Fairly accurate dramatization of what space is really like
- Real Genius 1985: Silly film of college hackers before the 1995 film Hackers
- The Abyss 1989: Aliens under the sea, somewhat related to the 1998 film Sphere
- Innerspace 1987: Fun scifi version of Honey I Shrunk the Kids!
Completely agree. If interested check out the documentary Zero Days. Insane, essentially the NSA in tandem with Israel took down Iran's nuclear program by impacting their industrial control units. Many Zero Days were used with nearly an unlimited budget.
[1] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C8lj45IL5J4&ab_channel=MadmanFilms
I learned from https://yts.mx/movies/zero-days-2016 that software that generates big heat can destroy hardware/nuclear plant
An excellent movie on how Israel/US/EU used a Computer virus to destroy Centrifuges in Iran Nuclear Plants https://yts.mx/movies/zero-days-2016
If anyone is interested in this, or wanna refresh your memory, you should watch the docufilm Zero Days (2016) by Alex Gibney (most of his ‘movies’ are quite interesting)
https://www.imdb.com/title/tt5446858/
There is also a great documentary on Hulu called Zero Days[1] that is fantastic about Stuxnet. Highly recommended.
[1] https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zero_Days
This is a great companion to the documentary "Zero Days", which gives a lot of political context to stuxnet, and has a good discussion at the end about the ethics of using offensive cyber weapons.
https://www.imdb.com/title/tt5446858/
im surprised that everyone keeps referencing the book and not the Documentary/Movie
Zero days
https://www.imdb.com/title/tt5446858/
"Zero Days" documentary is focused on Stuxnet. https://www.imdb.com/title/tt5446858/
The film “zero days” is an entertaining take on exactly this subject.
If you are not a book type of person, I recommend watching the movie Zero Days :)
In Zero Days [0], people exert concern that US cyber attacks in Iran causes counter attacks, while the US infrastructure is not yet ready to defend these attacks. Furthermore, it is concluded that the Iranian cyber army is greatly expanded and funded since Stuxnet; the government wanted the ability to defend against similar attack in the future.
[0]: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt5446858/
Its on the list, one of my favorites from last year. ZERO DAYS (2016) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7VgIayOpjEc http://www.imdb.com/title/tt5446858/ https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/zero_days
One particular issue that makes this difficult to enforce is the nature of nation-state cyber weapons. Unlike physical weapons, which can be regulated by tracking their location or use, cyber weapons are undetectable by design. Less advanced cyber weapons from weaker programs like North Korea's or Iran's teams can be found but the capabilities of major players like the USA, China, or European countries likely extends far beyond what a company would be able to detect.
The technology that advanced nation-states are using to do attacks is highly classified and most likely farther reaching than most people realize. The documentary Zero Days gives a pretty good overview of how nation-state cyber attacks have transferred into physical attacks (e.g. taking large power grids offline, derailing trains, subverting anything that has a PLC, etc.). This technology has been around for almost a decade. Without knowledge of what kind of weapons they have, we won't be able to detect them. If these capabilities fell into the hands of non-nation state actors (terrorists) the damage they could do could be analogous to a nuclear weapon.
Even if we do discover an attack, it's even harder to attribute a piece of software to a country. Do you think an advanced nation would leave marks saying "foobar virus copyright X team 2017"? There's plausible deniability as well because one country could frame the other to make it look credible and we'd have no way to know what the truth was.
This program may work well for normal hacking attacks by people or lesser nation-states but it will not affect the missions for more advanced countries. Maybe it's worthwhile for stopping some attacks and setting a precedent but it won't be a silver bullet. I agree with the sentiment though, innocent civilians and companies should be left out of the crosshairs. It would be good if major software companies could work together to mitigate damage from attacks.
I just watched zero days, a great documentary about stuxnet. It is important to realize-- and this seems to be the films thesis, that secrecy is extremely damaging. It took 20-30 years for bioweapons, nuclear weapons, and chemical weapons treaties to be enacted and this process hasn't been started with cyber.
Attacking whistleblowers is damaging because it is postponing inevitable discussions that need to happen and interfering with discourse nations need to have within themselves and with other counter-parties.
Well, have you ever heard of NSA mass surveillance by Obama? Zero Days (the documentary) is very revealing too...
> Attacks against the power grid are weak because, in almost every scenario you can conjure, the remediation is just disconnecting the network and flipping the on switch.
In two of the last four winters, I've lost power for extended periods of 4 and 5 days, respectively. It's not fun, and even with friends, family and businesses in the area that did still have power that we could depend on, it was difficult. These types of issues are not flip the switch to reset, there is physical damage that needs to be repaired. Imagine this on a much larger scale and it is pretty scary.
If you've never watched the document Zero Days [1], I recommend it. Towards the end, they mention (and the documentary pulls from quotes and testimony of many intelligence personnel) that Olympic Games (Stuxnet) is just the tip of the iceberg, and that we essentially own Iran top to bottom. We completely own their power grid and could destroy strategic pieces of it in the same way we destroyed the centrifuges..using only code. They state that with something like this it could take weeks or months to fully get power restored. Considering the fact that water plants, refrigeration, businesses, etc. depend on that power, access to clean food and water would likely be severely limited, probably also leading to looting, riots and violence...a not-insignificant number of innocent civilians would certainly die.
[1] http://www.imdb.com/title/tt5446858/
It also highlights the risks of NSA exploiting zero-days and creating malware to conduct offensive operations, rather than reporting vulnerabilities to the vendor to make everyone safer. Now these tools have been stolen by one of their adversaries, and may make it out into the public for anyone to take advantage of.
I just watched an excellent documentary called "Zero Days" (https://weshare.me/823adb83b8e98628) this morning about the whole Stuxnet (aka Olympic Games) debacle. They really are playing with fire.
You should check out the documentary "Zero Days" released this year. It talks about Operation Olympic Games among others and how common it is for nation states to wage cyber warfare because there are currently no rules against it.
Not to be confused with Zero Days (2016), which is also worth a watch.
Edit: I mis-read, you actually are talking about Zero Days (2016), which - I meant - shouldn't be confused with an earlier documentary called Zero Days - Security Leaks For Sale.
I just chuckled a bit at the name of the documentary: _Zero_Days_