Daniel Cobb

Journal Entry #6

201S

March 3, 2024

After watching the video, write a journal entry about how you think the media influences our understanding about cybersecurity?

So the video shed light on how media often distorts our perception of cybersecurity. It was a reminder of how much influence media has on shaping our understanding of complex subjects like cybersecurity. Media influences lot of people in diffrent ways, highlighting points it wants to emphases or convey. Often times it exaggerates topics are flat out depicts it in a more stubble way for a viewer, for example a hacker scanning ports and reading through information on a screen taking a significate amount of time to process and to execute any commands, well in Hollywood for a viewer experience it would not be enjoyable to sit through the long process so they usually skip through these tedious and long parts of the process. In the video she was highlighting some good movies that actually were depicting real world hacking showing that it is possible to make a movie staying true to the concepts of cybersecurity. Another aspect highlighted was the visualization of code. Instead of accurately representing lines of code, the video showcased elaborate 3D models twisting and turning, which could mislead viewers into thinking that coding is a flashy, visually stimulating activity. Now like I stated before their were some shows that accurately represented cybersecurity and hacking, one show in particular was “Mr. Robot” the scene in particular was showing the main character at a underground CTF which is a real world event the hackers take part in yearly. The techniques, code, system, and even the objective were are very real highlighting a good perception on cybersecurity and hackers. Now the only downside to the scene was when the main character took one glance at another competitor computer and instantly understood everything that was happening and even provided the answer very quick which in reality no human would be able to process that fast. This is a great example of doing justice to a topic when you take time to invest into understanding how delicate the complex topic of cybersecurity is and demonstrate it properly rather then just strictly try to visual stimulate the viewer. As individuals increasingly rely on media for information, it’s crucial to approach portrayals of cybersecurity with a critical eye. While entertainment value is important, it should not come at the cost of accuracy and understanding. Media producers and consumers alike bear the responsibility of ensuring that representations of cybersecurity are grounded in reality to foster a more informed and responsible discourse on this critical subject.

Source: Hacker Rates 12 Hacking Scenes In Movies And TV | How Real Is It? | Insider https://www.youtube.com/watch?app=desktop&v=6BqpU4V0Ypk