The first season of Mr. Robot , dating back to 2015, has won over cybersecurity enthusiasts and the general public thanks to a compelling narration and interpretation by Rami Malek, later consecrated by the roles of Freddy Mercury in Bohemian Rhapsody and the villain of No Time to Die.
The series brings on screen Elliot Alderson, tormented ethical hacker, who is recruited by the mysterious Mr. Robot to dismantle the corruption of a massive multinational with murky interests, E Corp.
What has made the series iconic besides the cut of direction, is the realism of the hacking techniques employed: from the use of Raspberry Pi for Man-In-The-Middle attacks, to SQL injection, to social engineering to obtain privileged information and access.
It is important to point out that many of these techniques, while still effective in principle, have evolved since the beginning.
An interesting idea is to think about how the update speed between defenses and threats is the protagonist of the hidden technological world.
For example, firewalls and IDS/IPS systems are now more advanced in detecting intrusions, while protections against infected USBs have been strengthened with much more accurate control and prevention means and policies.
Today, the world of hacking has expanded its reach: attacks on supply chains of large and medium-sized enterprises have become the new frontier, as has the use of AI to sophisticated phishing and social engineering campaigns.
Mr. Robot has anticipated many of these evolutions, making it a cult, at least in the first season, for anyone who wants to understand the roots of modern cyber-crime.
HACKING TECHNIQUES ARE A HIGHLIGHT
( Each episode emulates a popular file format type in the title )
Ep. 1 – eps1.0_hellofriend.mov
Elliot uses a MITM (Man-In-The-Middle) attack via a Raspberry Pi hidden in a coffee shop to monitor a criminal’s traffic. It then uses a backdoor to access a server and locate a vulnerability that an unknown hacker was already exploiting
Ep. 2 – eps1.1_ones-and-zer0es.mpeg
An exploit is used to disable the physical security of a company
Elliot also uses social engineering techniques to get information from an employee and gain access to systems.
Ep. 4 – eps1.3_da3m0ns.mp4
Elliot uses malware on a USB stick to infect a target’s system
Ep. 7 – eps1.6_v1ew-s0urce.flv
Elliot hacked a corrupt employee on the payroll of a Chinese hacker group by exploiting an SQL injection on a website.
Ep. 10 – eps1.9_zer0-day.avi
Rootkits and ransomware are used to erase E Corp’s data.
GLOSSARIO BONUS:
Social engineering: A technique that uses psychological manipulation to obtain sensitive information, such as credentials or access, by deceiving people instead of directly attacking computer systems.
Raspberry Pi for MITM and sabotage: Using a small Raspberry Pi computer to carry out Man-In-The-Middle (MITM) attacks, intercepting and altering network communications, or manipulating devices and infrastructure.
SQL Injection: Technique that exploits vulnerabilities in databases by inserting malicious SQL code into the input fields of a web application to obtain sensitive data or manipulate stored information.
USB drop attack: An attack method in which infected USB drives are left in public places, hoping that someone will connect them to a computer, thus allowing malware to run and unauthorized access to systems.
Exploit on server to get root privileges: Use of vulnerabilities in systems to execute malicious code with administrative (root) privileges, gaining full control of the compromised server.
Ransomware: Malicious software ( Malware ) that encrypts files on a system and requires a ransom to provide the decryption key. Modern ransomware attacks often combine system blocking and data theft with the threat of posting stolen material on the dark web (double extortion).
Backdoor: Hidden access left intentionally or found in a system, which allows an attacker to bypass security mechanisms to re-enter the system without authorization.
Article in collaboration with Lorenzo Raimondo, Managing Director of Observere
