Fiction meets reality of cyberattack threats in Netflix’s ‘Leave the World Behind’

[KARAH RUCKER]

HAVE YOU WATCHED “LEAVE THE WORLD BEHIND” ON NETFLIX YET?

DON’T WORRY, NO SPOILERS HERE.

IT’S BASICALLY A DISASTER FILM WATCHING THE U.S. COLLAPSE AFTER A CYBER ATTACK – BUT IT FEELS EERILY REALISTIC.

THAT’S THANKS TO THE HELP OF THE OBAMAS CO-PRODUCING THE MOVIE.

AND THE DIRECTOR SAID THE “SCRIPT NOTES” FROM OBAMA SCARED THE – OUT OF HIM.

KEEP IN MIND – THIS IS A FICTIONAL FILM BASED ON A BOOK.

JUST AS A MOVIE BASED ON FOREIGN ATTACKS ON U.S. INFRASTRUCTURE TRENDS ON NETFLIX – A CYBERSECURITY OFFICIAL WITH HOMELAND SECURITY SAYS CHINA IS CURRENTLY POSITIONING THEMSELVES TO OVERTHROW U.S. INFRASTRUCTURE IN THE EVENT OF A CONFLICT TO CAUSE “SOCIETAL CHAOS” FROM WITHIN, A SINISTER THEME IN “LEAVE THE WORLD BEHIND.”

THE WASHINGTON POST REPORTED THIS WEEK CHINESE HACKERS TARGETED MORE THAN TWO DOZEN U.S. ENTITIES THIS YEAR –

INCLUDING COMMUNICATION SYSTEMS,

THE TEXAS POWER GRID, WATER UTILITIES,

AND OIL AND GAS PIPELINES.

THE #1 MOVIE ON NETFLIX ‘LEAVE THE WORLD BEHIND’ OFFERS A CHILLING TAKE ON A CYBERATTACK IN THE U.S.

AND A FORMER PRESIDENT IS A CO-PRODUCER OF THE FILM.

JUST AS THIS MOVIE TRENDS ONLINE, U.S. CYBERSECURITY OFFICIALS SAY POWER GRIDS, WATER UTILITIES, GAS PIPELINES AND OTHER U.S. INFRASTRUCTURE WERE TARGETED BY CHINESE HACKERS THIS YEAR.

THE MOVIE IS A HIT ON NETFLIX.

THE PLOT?

A U.S. COLLAPSE AFTER A CYBER SECURITY ATTACK.

BUT THE DISASTER FILM –

FEELS EERILY REALISTIC.

[KARAH RUCKER]

BARACK AND MICHELLE OBAMA HELPED CO-PRODUCE THE MOVIE.

THEIR PRODUCTION COMPANY “HIGHER GROUND PRODUCTIONS” HAS NEVER BEEN PART OF A FICTIONAL FILM – UNTIL NOW.

AND THEIR INSIGHT AND DIRECTION ON THE MOVIE WAS EYE-POPPING FOR THE DIRECTOR.

THE DIRECTOR TOLD VANITY FAIR –

“I AM WRITING WHAT I THINK IS FICTION, FOR THE MOST PART, I’M TRYING TO KEEP IT AS TRUE TO LIFE AS POSSIBLE, BUT I’M EXAGGERATING AND DRAMATIZING. AND TO HEAR AN EX-PRESIDENT SAY YOU’RE OFF BY A FEW DETAILS…I THOUGHT I WAS OFF BY A LOT! THE FACT THAT HE SAID THAT SCARED THE F*** OUT OF ME.”

JUST AS A MOVIE BASED ON FOREIGN ATTACKS ON U.S. INFRASTRUCTURE TRENDS ON NETFLIX –

A  WARNING FROM A CYBERSECURITY OFFICIAL WITH HOMELAND SECURITY SAYS A FOREIGN ENTITY TRYING TO HACK U.S. INFRASTRUCTURE IS A **REAL THREAT FACING THE COUNTRY.

[BRANDON WALES | CISA EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR 

It is very clear that Chinese attempts to compromise critical infrastructure are in part to pre-position themselves to be able to disrupt or destroy that critical infrastructure in the event of a conflict, to either prevent the United States from being able to project power into Asia or to cause societal chaos inside the United States — to affect our decision-making around a crisis.

[KARAH RUCKER]

THE WASHINGTON POST REPORTED THIS WEEK CHINESE HACKERS TARGETED MORE THAN TWO DOZEN U.S. ENTITIES THIS YEAR –

INCLUDING COMMUNICATION SYSTEMS,

THE TEXAS POWER GRID, WATER UTILITIES,

AND OIL AND GAS PIPELINES.

WHILE THERE IS AN ENTIRE CHINESE-STATE-SPONSORED CYBER ESPIONAGE CAMPAIGN —

IT’S NOT THE ONLY FOREIGN ENTITY CAUGHT TRYING TO HACK CRITICAL SYSTEMS.

IRANIAN HACKER GROUPS LAUNCHED RANSOMWARE AND CYBER ATTACKS ON U.S. WATER SYSTEMS AS RECENTLY AS LAST WEEK.

IN RESPONSE – A DEPUTY NATIONAL SECURITY ADVISER ISSUED A WARNING SAYING “WE NEED TO BE LOCKING OUR DIGITAL DOORS”.

A SIMILAR LESSON FROM NETFLIX’S “LEAVE THE WORLD BEHIND.”