Is Cyber Security’s Nostradamus the Slasher Film Genre?

Is Cyber Security’s Nostradamus the Slasher Film Genre?

My wife has a fascination with Nostradamus, the 16th century doctor that many credit with profoundly accurate predictions, that I just don’t understand. While these prophecies are rejected by most of the academic world, that hasn’t prevented his popularity from persisting, resulting in several books on the subject finding their way onto our bookshelf. I think, however, that I’ve cracked Nostradamus’ schtick: be incredibly vague and assume that history will repeat itself. Of course, writing in Middle French, which few people can accurately translate, probably only helped with the confusion as assumptions were made during translation.

Right now, the savvy reader is asking two questions: “What does this have to do with cyber security?” and “How do slasher films tie in?” The answer to the first one is simple… nothing at all. My theory is that just as Nostradamus vaguely predicted the future… at least enough to convince buyers of snake oil, slasher films predict the direction of cyber security.

If you managed to read that paragraph and, somehow, still stuck with me, let’s dig into this idea by thinking about the history of the slasher flick and the history of security.

There is room for debate on the origin of the slasher genre. Some would say that the entire genre was influenced by Hitchcock’s Psycho, while I’ve also seen claims that either Black Christmas or Halloween should be credited with birthing the genre. For the purposes of our discussion, let’s stick with Psycho as an influencer and consider Halloween to be the true birth of the genre.

Slasher movies all tend to have a basic concept – a serial killer, who, of course, cannot be killed, stalks and kills people, typically teenagers, for committing acts that only the strictest Catholic grandmother would find fault in. This continues until he is undone, or appears to be undone, by the only moral or “pure” member of the group (typically “pure” from a religious standpoint). While we think our hero (or heroine – hence the term ‘Final Girl’) has succeeded, we quickly learn in the sequel that the killer is very much alive and ready to start the cycle again.

Let’s breakdown those concepts and see how they apply to cyber security.

Instead of a killer, we have hackers or threat actors. These heavily funded individuals and groups target the uninformed for committing acts that they consider to be completely safe and reasonable. Your grandmother opening an email, your father-in-law clicking the wrong link. Ultimately, these attackers (or at least their acts) are undone with someone with knowledge. Here, we have knowledgeable defenders defeating the attackers, whereas the slasher flicks typically see a religiously pure hero take on that role. However, many religions tie together purity and knowledge, as 17th century Iranian Shia Islamic philosopher Mulla Sadra did and as the New American Standard Bible does in 2 Corinthians 6:6. Finally, we have the return of the killer in a sequel… comparatively another compromise or a new threat group popping up to take the place of the defeated attacker. The slasher flick formula was nothing but an explanation of how cyber security problems would be solved.

Now, at this point, you may argue that we’re aware of how breaches work, we have ways to defend against them. It’s nothing like a movie, where the killer is a seemingly “unkillable” machine. To argue this, I point you to the slasher movie of my teens, Scream. Randy Meeks (played by Jamie Kennedy) spelled out the rules for surviving, yet no one followed them – just as people today fail to follow the steps to proper security hygiene. If they had just listened to him, there may have been more survivors, just as how if breach victims paid more attention, they might not be breached. Randy warned us that if we didn’t listen, we’d be next.

So, now, we have a few commonalities, but you’re still not convinced. Let’s not forget that at the end of the film, they always say the killer is dead but he’s always back for one more sequel. In 2014, we were hearing that antivirus was dead, but we still talk about malware almost constantly. You see, there are more similarities between slasher flicks and cyber security than you might think.

Finally, we have the most telling indicator. The revivals and remakes. In 2009, we saw a new Friday the 13th and, in 2010, we saw the return of Freddy Krueger. What’s old (these film franchises that started during the golden age of slasher films) were new again. We’re seeing the same thing in cyber security as vulnerabilities we had long forgotten are surfacing in poorly written and hastily released IoT devices. Yet another prophecy about the future of cyber security.

The final nail in the coffin is the recent release of Halloween, a sequel to the original 1978 film. This movie forgets all other Halloween movies except for the original and brings us back to the starting point of the slasher sub-genre. If slasher flicks really are cyber security’s Nostradamus, that means that 2019 is likely going to be a very bad year for the return of basic vulnerabilities in IoT devices. If that’s not a horror movie, I don’t know what is.

Posted by Tyler Reguly on Oct 31, 2018


Featured

  • New Research Reveals Global Video Surveillance Industry Perspectives on AI

    Axis Communications, the global industry leader in video surveillance, has released its latest research report, ‘The State of AI in Video Surveillance,’ which explores global industry perspectives on the use of AI in the security industry and beyond. The report reveals current attitudes on AI technologies thanks to in-depth interviews with AI experts from Axis’ global network and a comprehensive survey of more than 5,800 respondents, including distributors, channel partners, and end customers across 68 countries. The resulting insights cover AI integration and the opportunities and challenges that exist with regard to security, safety, business intelligence, and operational efficiency. Read Now

  • SIA Urges Tariff Relief for Security Industry Products

    Today, the Security Industry Association has sent a letter to U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer and U.S. Secretary of Commerce Howard Lutnick requesting relief from tariffs for security industry products and asking that the Trump administration formulate a process that allows companies to apply for product-specific exemptions. The security industry is an important segment of the U.S. economy, contributing over $430 billion in total economic impact and supporting over 2.1 million jobs. Read Now

  • Report Shows Cybercriminals Continue Pivot to Stealthier Tactics

    IBM recently released the 2025 X-Force Threat Intelligence Index highlighting that cybercriminals continued to pivot to stealthier tactics, with lower-profile credential theft spiking, while ransomware attacks on enterprises declined. IBM X-Force observed an 84% increase in emails delivering infostealers in 2024 compared to the prior year, a method threat actors relied heavily on to scale identity attacks. Read Now

  • 2025 Security LeadHER Conference Program Announced

    ASIS International and the Security Industry Association (SIA) – the leading membership associations for the security industry – have announced details for the 2025 Security LeadHER conference, a special event dedicated to advancing, connecting and empowering women in the security profession. The third annual Security LeadHER conference will be held Monday, June 9 – Tuesday, June 10, 2025, at the Detroit Marriott Renaissance Center in Detroit, Michigan. This carefully crafted program represents a comprehensive professional development opportunity for women in security this year. To view the full lineup at this year’s event, please visit securityleadher.org. Read Now

    • Industry Events
  • Report: 82 Percent of Phishing Emails Used AI

    KnowBe4, the world-renowned cybersecurity platform that comprehensively addresses human risk management, today launched its Phishing Threat Trend Report, detailing key trends, new data, and threat intelligence insights surrounding phishing threats targeting organizations at the start of 2025. Read Now

New Products

  • FEP GameChanger

    FEP GameChanger

    Paige Datacom Solutions Introduces Important and Innovative Cabling Products GameChanger Cable, a proven and patented solution that significantly exceeds the reach of traditional category cable will now have a FEP/FEP construction.

  • A8V MIND

    A8V MIND

    Hexagon’s Geosystems presents a portable version of its Accur8vision detection system. A rugged all-in-one solution, the A8V MIND (Mobile Intrusion Detection) is designed to provide flexible protection of critical outdoor infrastructure and objects. Hexagon’s Accur8vision is a volumetric detection system that employs LiDAR technology to safeguard entire areas. Whenever it detects movement in a specified zone, it automatically differentiates a threat from a nonthreat, and immediately notifies security staff if necessary. Person detection is carried out within a radius of 80 meters from this device. Connected remotely via a portable computer device, it enables remote surveillance and does not depend on security staff patrolling the area.

  • Camden CM-221 Series Switches

    Camden CM-221 Series Switches

    Camden Door Controls is pleased to announce that, in response to soaring customer demand, it has expanded its range of ValueWave™ no-touch switches to include a narrow (slimline) version with manual override. This override button is designed to provide additional assurance that the request to exit switch will open a door, even if the no-touch sensor fails to operate. This new slimline switch also features a heavy gauge stainless steel faceplate, a red/green illuminated light ring, and is IP65 rated, making it ideal for indoor or outdoor use as part of an automatic door or access control system. ValueWave™ no-touch switches are designed for easy installation and trouble-free service in high traffic applications. In addition to this narrow version, the CM-221 & CM-222 Series switches are available in a range of other models with single and double gang heavy-gauge stainless steel faceplates and include illuminated light rings.