15 Cybersecurity Movies and Series You Must Watch

1. Mr. Robot—8.5/10 on IMDB

Let’s start off with hacker shows. If you want to dip your toes into a drama based around all too real technological threats, such as having your device hacked while you’re sipping coffee in Starbucks or suffering from a data attack via Bluetooth, get ready to be hooked on the hacker web series, Mr. Robot.

The story revolves around Elliot Alderson, a talented hacker and cybersecurity expert who suffers from social anxiety disorder and clinical depression. His life turns upside down when Mr. Robot invites him to join a group of hacktivists on a mission to destroy the largest financial conglomerate in the world.

Sounds intriguing?

Here’s one more hook: all hacking scenes in the series are very realistic, with genuine techniques, code, and tools in use. So immerse yourself in the hacker world, but be careful: it can be addictive.

You can stream Mr. Robot on Amazon Prime.

2. The Imitation Game—8/10 on IMDB

“Machines can never think as humans do, but just because something thinks differently from you, does it mean it's not thinking?”

Next up on our list of movies about cybersecurity and hacking is The Imitation Game. This is a historical drama about the genius British mathematician Alan Turing.

The movie reveals the story of a man whose brilliance deserves worldwide recognition. He built the machine that cracked the German Enigma code and helped the Allies win World War II, shortening the war by more than two years and saving over 14 million lives.

3. The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo—7.8/10 on IMDB

Based on the best-selling Swedish trilogy, this movie tells the powerful, dark, and captivating story of a girl’s revenge.

Journalist Mikael Blomkvist is picking up the pieces of his life and career after a costly lawsuit was brought against him by businessman Hans-Erik Wennerström. A wealthy man approaches him to investigate the presumed murder of his grandniece, Helen, who disappeared 40 years ago, in exchange for evidence against Wennerström.

Blomkvist taps the talented investigator and hacker Lisbeth Salander to help with the investigation. After solving the murder, it’s Salander who ends up offering Blomkvist helpful information related to Wennerström’s crimes, thanks to her hacking brilliance, which Blomkvist exposes in a scathing editorial.

What is hacking, you may wonder? This film helps you understand it.

Want to know something else? Helen and Salander end up having something in common.

Prepare to be shocked by the result of this investigation. As with most movies and TV shows inspired by books, don’t expect this hacking movie to reflect the book to a T.

4. The Social Network—7.8/10 on IMDB

The US biographical drama film tells us the story of Facebook and its founder, Mark Zuckerberg.

The movie is based on the book The Accidental Billionaires by Ben Mezrich. Though David Kirkpatrick, the author of The Facebook Effect, said that the movie is only 40% true and includes a lot of fictional events, it’s still worth watching.

The Social Network shows us true friendship and loneliness, love and betrayal, and a man who transformed an idea into a huge, multi-billion-dollar empire. It’s an inspirational story about the power of technology to connect old friends and impact the world as we know it.

Business hopefuls, tech enthusiasts, and social media users will enjoy this move, although everyone can watch it.

5. Who am I—7.5/10 on IMDB

Who Am I is a German techno-thriller following Benjamin, a young social outcast who is lost in his own sense of self but not in the online world.

This is where he puts on a digital mask and turns into a professional hacker. He later meets other online disruptors, and together they create CLAY (Clowns Laughing at You), a community on a mission to hack and humiliate large corporations.

No system is safe, and even a human being is hackable. This is the motto of the movie that changed our perceptions of internet security.

6. Swordfish—7.2/10 on IMDB

This techno-thriller boasts an all-star line-up of veteran actors, including John Travolta, Hugh Jackman, Halle Berry, Don Cheadle, Vinnie Jones, and Sam Shepard.

Stanley Jobson is on parole for cyber crime—infecting an FBI program with a computer virus. He finds himself in a predicament when he’s approached to work for Gabriel Shear and threatened with cracking one of the Defense Department’s servers.

There’s only one problem, though: his parole conditions forbid him from using computers and the internet. Standley finds himself roped up in another hacking mission. Gabriel later offers him millions of dollars to program a computer worm or “hydra” with the goal of stealing $9.5 billion from the government.

But he would later learn that he may have bitten off more than he could chew. His dealings with Gabriel would cost Stanley a great deal, as his daughter is kidnapped, and he’s framed for his ex-wife’s death.

Will he get his daughter back, clear his name, and maintain his freedom? Watch the movie to find out how it all goes down.  

7. GoldenEye—7.2/10 on IMDB

If you enjoy spy films, James Bond movies are likely on your list of favorites.

In GoldenEye, former allies-turned-enemies James Bond (Agent 007) and Alec Trevelyan (Agent 006) square off in an epic showdown as Bond attempts to stop a nuclear weapon, GoldenEye, from destroying the world.

In 1986, Bond witnesses fellow MI6 agent Trevelyan get killed by the commanding officer of a Soviet chemical weapons facility they’ve infiltrated. He escapes after destroying the site. Years later, an electromagnetic pulse blows up a site he’s monitoring in Siberia. The weapon is later determined to be a Soviet-era satellite fitted with a nuclear electromagnetic pulse space-based weapon called GoldenEye.

Bond suspects a former general is involved due to the high-level military access required to carry out the attack. He finds out that Trevelyan faked his death and is looking to avenge his parents' deaths. In a dramatic scene, bond faces off with Trevelyan before taking off with Natalaya. However, their attempts to spend time together in solitude are interrupted as they’re escorted to Guantánamo.

8. 23 —7.2/10 on IMDB

Based on a true story, 23 chronicles the life of Karl Koch, who is widely known in the hacker and cybersecurity communities for having hacked into Chernobyl.

As a student, Karl meets a fellow student at a computer club with whom he shares a belief in social justice. The pair hacks into the global data network and commits espionage for the KGB.

Karl develops a nasty drug habit. He loses his wits about him, grows increasingly delusional, and loses sleep. Karl’s cyber attacks come to the surface, and he faces the consequences of his actions. His life doesn’t turn out like that of other hackers who end up consulting or being free after serving time in jail. Instead, the world is left with many unanswered questions.  

Karl was involved in multiple hacks in his lifetime. While he may have had good intentions in the beginning, some believe he was motivated by money, as he sold the code he stole from companies on the black market. Karl’s story highlights the dangers of hacking and the importance of cybersecurity for companies and Information Technology (IT) professionals.

9. Sneakers—7.1/10 on IMDB

Martin is a computer hacker who leads a team of specialists that tests the security of multiple San Francisco-based companies. Two National Security Agency officers approach him, who want him to steal a newly invented decoder.

But it’s not just any decoder; Martin and his team soon discover how powerful it is: the black box can crack any encryption code. This makes the decoder a high-security risk, especially if it lands in the wrong hands.

And that may be the case, as Martin realizes the NSA agents he’s working for are rogue agents. When they’re exposed, they frame him for the murder of the person who invented the decoder.

10. Wargames (1983) —7.1/10 on IMDB

When a game goes too far, the consequences are dire.

High school student David Lightman is a tech whiz who graduated from minor hacks like changing his school grades to getting involved in starting a war. He sets out to find new video games to play on his computer and settles on Global Thermonuclear War.

David starts playing with an unknown person online, unaware that they have sinister motives. He unknowingly finds a backdoor into a government supercomputer, causing it to activate the nation's nuclear weapons. David realizes that the lines between reality and the game itself are blurred, but is it too late?

Authorities believe he’s a spy, and he must convince them the threat is still at large and World War III looms, but will they believe him?

This movie will make you think twice about tapping into unfamiliar areas on the internet and the dangers of engaging with unknown hackers who may rope you into a sticky situation.

11. The Great Hack—7/10 on IMDB

Data is a valuable asset capable of becoming a strong weapon against society if in the wrong hands. Are you ready to learn how large companies harvest our personal data to manipulate us?

The movie lays out the nuts and bolts of the Facebook data breach scandal with Cambridge Analytica. Thought-provoking, powerful, and even scary, the documentary will shock you into facing the reality of our online lives and make you think twice before revealing any personal data.

12. Scorpion—7/10 on IMDB

The US dramatic TV hacker series tells the story of Walter Brian, a computer hacker with an IQ of 197 (the average is 90–110).

At the age of 13, he hacked NASA's servers and pulled out CAD files for the real Space Shuttle Columbia. Just to give you an idea of how genius this guy is, Brian teams up with other geeks to create a community that solves cybercrime.

If you’re curious about different science facts, coding, and hacking, don’t hesitate to give this hacker TV show a try.

13. The Italian Job—7/10 on IMDB

Hacking a traffic control system isn’t an easy feat, but Dutch hackers found it's possible.

The Italian job gives you somewhat of an idea of how it’s done. Inside man, Steve, betrays his team after stealing millions of dollars worth of gold bullion together. There’s only one problem, though: Steve has to sell the gold undetected to make money from it.

Sure enough, professional fixer Charlie finds him trying to sell the gold through a jeweler in Philadelphia. He’s also going by a fake name. Charlie gathers a team, and they tap John's daughter Stella, a private safe expert looking to avenge her father's death.

Steve eventually catches on that the team has located him and moves the gold. The team manipulates the traffic light control system to intercept the move. The thieves find the gold, and haul it away. There’s later a confrontation between Steve and the group as he tries to get the gold back. Watch to find out who gets to keep it.

The movie shows how vulnerable IT systems are and how determined hackers can compromise them and affect the lives of ordinary people as a result.

14. Hackers—6.2/10 on IMDB

Dade "Zero Cool" Murphy joins a group of hackers at school. He sets out to prove himself by hacking an Ellingson Mineral Corporation supercomputer, but things don’t go as planned.

A computer security officer, Eugene, is onto him. But there’s a twist: Eugene is a former hacker known as "The Plague," and he recognizes the file as a worm he used in an attempt to defraud Ellingson. He seeks to cover himself by pinning the whole thing on Zero Cool and claims the virus will overturn the company's oil tanker fleet.

Zero Cool must clear his name with the help of his hacker friends and by coercing the agent that was involved in his arrest. They use their hacking skills to expose the real culprit behind the virus and prove their friend’s innocence.

This film depicts what happens when white hat hackers and black hat hackers collide. It also shows that once a virus is out there, it never truly goes away.

15. Blackhat—6.1/10 on IMDB

A hacker causes the explosion of a nuclear plant in Chai Wan, Hong Kong. Soon after, the Chicago Mercantile Exchange gets hacked, affecting soy futures prices. The FBI and Chinese government learned the hack was performed with a remote access tool.

Captain Chen Dawai of the People's Liberation Army cyber warfare unit is tasked with finding the hacker. Through a series of events, Nicholas Hathaway, his former college roommate, with whom he created the code in the tool, is granted temporary release to assist with the investigation. However, he wants his sentence commuted if the hacker is captured.

Dawai also puts together a small team, which drops like flies during the mission. Only two people made it out alive. Find out who they are and whether Nicholas goes back to prison. Stream Blackhat and other movies like it on Netflix.

Conclusion

We hope you’ll like our picks for the best hacker movies and TV series about cybersecurity and hacking, including why cybersecurity matters. Some of them might make you worry; others will inspire you. But most importantly, we hope they’ll make you think (even think twice) about your online data and its security.

We recommend using the Clario AntiSpy app’s suite of anti-spying tools to protect your data from hackers and bad actors. And when you’re done with these movies on hacking, be sure to check out our list of great cybersecurity and social media books, too.

Most of the movies listed can be found on Amazon Prime, YouTube, Microsoft Store, Google Play Movies, and Apple TV. Only a few are on Netflix and even fewer on Disney+; as you’ve seen, these aren’t the latest movies. They are, however, some of the best movies of all time.