How cyber-realistic is Netflix’s Zero Day thriller?  

The idea of an entire country being shut down by cyberattack is a scary thought. In Netflix’s recent thriller ‘Zero Day’, this is the reality faced by former president (played by Robert de Niro). To find out how realistic Zero Day and the threat portrayed is, we set some homework for Martin Jartelius CISO at Outpost24 (Specops’ parent company). He’s watched through the series and noted down some of the less realistic plot point.  

Of course, the thriller is intended as some fun entertainment, and anything bringing the topic of cybersecurity and attack preparedness into the public mindset is a good thing! But for anyone concerned about a similar scenario playing out in reality, here are seven reasons why the show is a little on the fanciful side.  

Seven unrealistic cyber aspects of Netflix’s Zero Day 

1. The attack’s scale is wildly unrealistic 

Cyber-attacks can be wide-reaching. The real-life SolarWinds hack comes to mind as impacting many different organizations. However, attacks rarely (if ever) hit every system simultaneously across multiple industries, platforms, and networks. In Zero Day, the malware effortlessly impacts everything from subways to financial systems—this would be an overwhelming challenge for even the most advanced cybercriminals. 

2. Cross-platform malware is a nightmare to engineer 

The show assumes hackers can create a single piece of malware that runs across all major operating systems and applications while staying undetected. In reality, malware is highly specialized—getting even one variant to work properly is difficult, let alone something that scales across diverse infrastructure. 

3. IT systems don’t actually control everything 

While digital infrastructure is critical, most physical systems have failovers to prevent total failure. Subways, for instance, can still brake manually. Nuclear plants, electrical grids, and even traffic control systems often have manual overrides to prevent chaos in the event of a cyber-attack. Coming under attack would be far from ideal, but backup plans are built into our critical infrastructure.  

4. Cyberattacks tend to disrupt, not control 

Most real-world cyberattacks aim to overload, destroy, or disable systems—not to take pinpoint control. The Russia-Ukraine cyberwarfare tactics, for example, have focused on shutting down communications, bricking satellite systems, and erasing databases rather than manipulating infrastructure in real-time. 

5. Coordinated cyberwarfare is harder than it looks 

A synchronized, simultaneous takedown of multiple sectors would require an incredible level of planning, testing, and execution. In reality, attacks often hit some targets successfully but fail against others due to differences in security configurations and countermeasures. 

6. Not every system is connected to the Internet 

The idea that hackers can remotely access anything and everything assumes all systems are connected. Many industrial control systems (e.g. power plants, transportation networks) operate on isolated networks, meaning an attacker would need physical access or insider help to compromise them. Possible, but that would require physically infiltrating a lot of very tightly controlled places at the same time. 

7. Cybersecurity defenses vary by organization 

Even within a single country, organizations use different security tools and monitoring systems—some have hypervisors, file system protections, AI-driven anomaly detection, and more. This means a large-scale attack would likely have inconsistent success rates rather than the blanket disruption seen in Zero Day. 

Is everything about the Zero Day thriller unrealistic?  

No! While Zero Day exaggerates, cyberwarfare is a real and growing concern. Attacks on government agencies, hospitals, and financial institutions have already had serious economic and social impacts, although they usually focus on data theft, espionage, or financial disruption rather than full infrastructure collapse. 

At the end of the day, Zero Day is fiction, just like how Armageddon wanted us believe Bruce Willis could fly to an asteroid and blow it up. The entertainment industry often sacrifices technical accuracy for storytelling, and that’s okay—just don’t use it as a cybersecurity training manual. 

While the technical details are unrealistic, Zero Day does serve an important function: raising awareness. Cybersecurity threats are a real and growing problem, and while an attack of this scale is unlikely, governments, businesses, and individuals must take digital threats seriously to prevent major disruptions. 

Close off attack routes into your organization  

It might be less exciting than Robert de Niro hunting down bad guys, but credential-based attacks are very much a real threat. Hackers use compromised passwords every day to infiltrate organizations. Ridding your Active Directory of compromised passwords might not make it into a Netflix thriller anytime soon, but it could stop your IT team from having their own very bad day. Get in touch to learn how Specops Password Policy continuously scans your environment for breached passwords. You can even try it for free.