What the Netflix ‘Zero Day’ series got right about incident response

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What the Netflix ‘Zero Day’ series got right about incident response
Critics panned the show for devolving into a soap opera, but it did manage to get the incident response scenes right.
SC MediaCasey Ellis

COMMENTARY: Netflix’s "Zero Day" series might have thrown in overdone Hollywood theatrics that focused on tawdry sexual themes, but at its core, the show taps into something genuinely important from a cybersecurity standpoint:

The reality and risks associated with vulnerabilities in our critical infrastructure.

The cybersecurity community recently focused-in on the Netflix series during an all-star panel at RSAC featuring Chris Krebs and Jen Easterly, both of them now former directors at the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency; Rob Joyce, former director of cybersecurity at the NSA; and Michael Schmidt, New York Times reporter and co-producer of the Netflix miniseries.

As an industry we often grapple with the tension between what's technically possible versus what's probable, and the Netflix series nudges us toward recognizing that extraordinary scenarios, while rare, aren't completely out of the question.

A zero-day vulnerability refers to an unknown security flaw exploited by attackers before defenders even know it exists. "Zero Day" portrays an attacker group simultaneously leveraging these flaws on various systems such as iOS, Android, Windows, and across critical infrastructure, including power grids, traffic and transport systems, and air traffic control.

The aspect of the initial attack that was most unrealistic was its synchronization. The "lights off, light on" aspect and the subsequent message on phones and computers that “THIS WILL HAPPEN AGAIN” was clearly designed to project supreme power and control. Anyone who works on critical infrastructure knows that it’s easy to turn things off, but getting them to turn back on is hard, and orchestrating a disruptive attack this broad and with this level of precision is basically implausible.

That said, the widespread nature of the effects shown in the six-part series are definitely plausible. Industrial control systems and the infrastructure that supports them are riddled with zero-day vulnerabilities, alongside the more common "known, yet unpatched" n-day vulnerabilities.

Just a few weeks before the release of the series, I was at Districtcon judging The Junkyard: A Pwn2Own-style exploit contest, focusing on IT systems that are end-of-life, and therefore unsupported and unpatched. The winner of the contest demonstrated the complete takeover of a traffic-light management system that had been unsupported for years, that he had bought off eBay for $50.

To illustrate the potential impact of the flaws, he included a photo taken from outside the front of the conference venue in Washington — the same make and model of system he’d just exploited was controlling the traffic lights outside the hotel we were all in.

Today, the systems that run our modern society are incredibly interconnected and only continue to become more so as the potential damage from sophisticated, coordinated cyberattacks escalates. Volt Typhoon is a good and recent example of a threat actor that has successfully exploited the pervasive existence of zero-day and n-day in the critical infrastructure attack surface.

What “Zero Day” got right was the portrayal of the security operations center (SOC) team’s response. Incident response in the real world isn’t about theatrics: it’s about staying calm, thinking clearly, and executing with precision. The miniseries nailed the importance of those critical first steps: restoring essential services such as power and communications. Without those basics in place, any hope of effective recovery goes out the window. That focus mirrors exactly how real-world SOC teams prioritize during a crisis.

The series also got right the challenge of attribution. Pinpointing who’s behind an attack is notoriously complex and risky if rushed. Jumping to conclusions can lead to costly mistakes, both strategically and politically. The show did a solid job of illustrating why analysts need to stay objective, cautious, and laser-focused on the data to avoid those pitfalls. It’s a reminder that in cybersecurity, patience and methodical thinking are just as critical as technical expertise.

A robust incident response plan, which cybersecurity professionals rely on daily, typically includes these important steps, all of which were portrayed in the Netflix series:

  • Detection and analysis: Rapidly identifying compromised systems and exploited vulnerabilities.
  • Containment: Immediately isolating impacted networks to halt further compromise.
  • Eradication: Completely removing threats and patching exploited vulnerabilities.
  • Recovery: Methodically restoring systems, prioritizing critical infrastructure and core functions.
  • Post-incident analysis: Reviewing lessons learned, enhancing defenses, and refining processes to improve future resilience.

Had the series offered a closer look at the inside of these detailed SOC operations, viewers might better appreciate the calm, deliberate, and meticulous nature of cybersecurity response. These frontline efforts— though less sensational than the complicated personal life of the former president turned lead investigator played by Robert De Niro in the series  — are critical and heroic in their own right.

At its heart, cybersecurity is about resilience — building systems that can withstand attacks, recover quickly, and adapt to emerging threats. “Zero Day” offers a salient warning that underscores a truth we can’t ignore: the systems we rely on are only as strong as the effort we put into securing them.

Effective incident response isn’t flashy, it’s deliberate, methodical, and rooted in preparation. It’s about empowering defenders with the tools, processes, and mindset to act decisively when the stakes are high. And while the challenges are significant, so is the opportunity.

By fostering collaboration, embracing transparency, and prioritizing proactive defense, we can stay ahead of the curve. The Netflix series reminds us that cybersecurity isn’t just about technology: it’s about people, processes, and the shared responsibility of keeping our interconnected world safe.

This article was originally posted in SC Magazine: https://www.scworld.com/perspective/what-the-netflix-zero-day-series-got-right-about-incident-response