Behind 24’s Counter-Factual Version of Counter-Terrorism
New blog The Infastructurist debunks various aspects of how terrorism is portrayed on the show 24 (which to a lot of people is semi-real). Including:
On 24: Major elements of the national infrastructure are controlled by centralized software systems that are vulnerable to hackers.
In reality: The extent to which these systems are centrally controlled is vastly overplayed on the show. The real system is a patchwork of local networks. “I mean, the DHS has had a hell of a time just inventorying what it has.”
On 24: It’s possible for a terrorist to hack into the national air traffic control system, take the whole thing over and hold hundreds of airborne planes hostage.
In reality: The product of a screenwriter’s overheated imagination. Flynn describes the air traffic control network as an improvised hodgepodge with sections literally dating back to the days of vacuum tubes.
On 24: There is something called the CIP Firewall that protects all the nation’s key infrastructure.
In reality: Put this in the category of ludicrous but fruitful plot devices.
