The Good Tech Companies - Every Truth (And Lie) Told in Netflix's 'Zero Day,' Ranked

Episode Date: March 12, 2025

This story was originally published on HackerNoon at: https://hackernoon.com/every-truth-and-lie-told-in-netflixs-zero-day-ranked. Is Netflix’s 'Zero Day' realistic? A malware researcher breaks down 3 real cyber threats and 3 myths, separating cybersecurity fact from fiction. Check more stories related to cybersecurity at: https://hackernoon.com/c/cybersecurity. You can also check exclusive content about #cybersecurity, #zero-day, #moonlock, #macpaw, #zero-day-netflix-review, #how-realistic-is-zero-day, #zero-day-netflix-rating, #good-company, and more. This story was written by: @moonlock. Learn more about this writer by checking @moonlock's about page, and for more stories, please visit hackernoon.com. Netflix’s ‘Zero Day’ places viewers in the midst of a massive cyberattack that cripples the United States. While some aspects of the cyberattack feel eerily plausible, others stray into sci-fi. Malware Research Engineer at Moonlock, the cybersecurity division of MacPaw, gives his analysis of the show.

This audio is presented by Hacker Noon, where anyone can learn anything about any technology. Every truth and lie, told in Netflix's Zero Day, ranked, by Moonlock, by Mac Paw. By Mikhailo Paziniuk, Malware Research Engineer at Moonlock, the Cyber Security Division of Mac Paw. Netflix's Zero Day, places viewers in the midst of a massive cyber attack that cripples the United States. With Robert De Niro starring as a former US president investigating the attack, the series explores themes of political intrigue, digital warfare, and the fragility of modern infrastructure. But just how realistic is, zero day, from a cybersecurity perspective?

As a malware research engineer, I watched the show with a critical eye. While some aspects of the cyber attack feel eerily plausible, others stray into sci-fi. Here's my breakdown of the 0 day, where I'll cover 3 cyber threats that could realistically happen, and 3 that are pure fiction, at least for now. 3 threats that could happen. The series shows several combined attack vectors along with consequences that follow. The main methods include a full-scale attack on critical infrastructure using weaponized malware, as well as a supply chain attack that spreads through fake versions of legitimate software. To assess the show's accuracy, let's compare these scenarios with real-life

cyber attacks. Cyber Attack on the Critical Infrastructure, Colonial Pipeline, 2021 Cyber criminals disrupting essential services is one of the most realistic aspects of, zero day. Targeted attacks on power grids, water supplies, and hospitals are not just possible, they are already happening. The 2021 Colonial Pipeline ransomware attack shut down one of the largest fuel pipelines in the U.S.

Leading to gas shortages and widespread panic buying. Weaponized Malware, Stuxnet, 2010. The show suggests that a cyber attack could be designed to cripple a nation's security by sabotaging industrial systems. In reality, malware infection of critical systems have influenced global geopolitics for years. A historical precedent is Stuxnet, a highly sophisticated cyber weapon used to damage

Iran's nuclear centrifuges. Stuxnet closely resembles the attack shown in the series, especially since a TALSO caused physical damage to infrastructure. This type of malware functions like a worm, crawling through networks, spreading across devices, and causing failures in software or hardware, remaining persistent for long periods. We can only imagine the dire consequences if such a worm used AI to adapt to its environment. Supply chain attack, N-O-T-P-E-T-Y-A, 2017, zero day, suggests that an attack could rapidly spread through interconnected systems, a scenario that is entirely plausible.

Today, a single compromised vendor in a supply chain can infect thousands of organizations. Our team has spotted many similar attack techniques while analyzing fake software bundled with stealer implants, tricking users into believing they were using legitimate programs. One of the most devastating cyberattacks in history, not Petia, spread through a compromised update for widely used software in Ukraine, causing billions of dollars in damages worldwide. Three threats that are far from reality. Netflix excels at storytelling, which is why its shows are so captivating. However, here's how Zero Day dramatizes hacking for suspense. Instant and simultaneous system collapsing, Zero Day.

The cyberattack appears to take down everything at once, financial markets, emergency services, transportation. While coordinated attacks are possible, real-world cyberattacks don't usually spread with such precision. Attacks like not-Petya or solar winds took time to propagate, and organizations reacted at different speeds. Greater than, if we're talking about a common vulnerability, it would likely be in the greater than baseband or hardware.

But with multiple vendors supplying critical greater than infrastructure across the country, this remains unrealistic for now," notes greater than senior reverse engineer at McPaws Moonlock, who chose to remain anonymous. Total control with a few keystrokes zero day, relies on a classic Hollywood trope. A hacker typing furiously in a dark room, instantly causing systems to crash like dominoes. In reality, cyberattacks take weeks, months, or even years to prepare. Breaching critical infrastructure requires intricate social engineering, vulnerability hunting, lateral movement, and stealth to evade detection.

It's never as simple as shitting a few keystrokes and watching the world burn. The unstoppable super virus the show portrays an unstoppable cyber weapon with no way to mitigate its effects. It's true that advanced malware can be highly persistent, but no cyber attack is truly unpatchable. Even the most destructive malware can be tacked down with countermeasures, whether through endpoint protection, network segmentation, or manual intervention. The notion, once it's launched, it's game over, is pure fiction. Greater than, if the goal is to find vulnerabilities in an infected system, fuzzers are greater than used.

They run non-stop on C servers, but instead of brute forcing all greater than possible values, they rely on smart mutations. Moreover, not every crash dump greater than leads to an exploitable vulnerability. And to even operate on an infected greater than system in the first place, you'd already need a vulnerability to execute code. Greater than so, you've got something like a time loop in Terminator. Therefore, I'd say greater than these scenarios aren't plausible with the current state of AI development, greater than ad's senior reverse engineer at McPaws Moonlock. Could fiction become reality? Well, Zero Day, takes creative liberties, some of its fictional elements could eventually become real. Advancements in eye-driven attacks, deepfake social engineering, and autonomous malware may one day

bring us closer to the threats depicted in the show. AI-assisted hacking tools are already reshaping the threat landscape, making cyberattacks faster and more efficient. For example, Moonlock Labs team recently discovered a Python-based malware that uses the OpenAI API, ChatGPT, to run phishing campaigns. While the AI still requires well-structured queries to generate personalized phishing content, it significantly simplifies and accelerates the work of threat actors. Moreover, as governments and nation-state actors invest in cyber warfare, the line between fiction and reality continues to blur. AI-driven disinformation campaigns, automated zero-day exploits, and self-spreading malware

are no longer far-fetched scenarios. However, at this stage, threat actors primarily use AI for automation and attack preparation, not == using AI to adapt the code in the process of execution, as seen in the series. Fiction as a cautionary tale. The 0-day series may exaggerate some elements of cyber warfare, but it effectively highlights an important truth, our digital infrastructure is vulnerable. While we may not see a Hollywood-style doomsday virus anytime soon, real-world threats like ransomware, critical infrastructure attacks, undie-driven cybercrime demand our attention

and awareness. As malware researchers, security professionals, and even everyday users, we should learn from both real-world incidents and fictional warnings. Cyber threats are evolving, zero-day, just accelerates the timeline. And thank you for listening to this Hacker Noon story, read by Artificial Intelligence. Visit HackerNoon.com to read, write, learn and publish.