Someone sits down at a keyboard, mashes keys for six seconds, and says "I'm in." Every security professional dies a little inside but that scene is probably the reason half of us got into this field.

This episode walks through the movies, TV shows, books, graphic novels, and video games that shaped how we think about cybersecurity. Each pick lands in one of two buckets: the fantastical, the ones that made hacking look cool even when the tech was nonsense and the accurate or semi accurate, the ones that actually got the culture, the tools, and the tedium right or tried to. From Neuromancer to Mr. Robot, from Ghost in the Shell to Hacknet, and from The Cuckoo's Egg to community-built projects like Skadi: Threat Hunter and REKCAH Comics' The Future Is ******, this is a guided tour through the media that built cybersecurity's identity. The episode closes with a five-item starter kit for anyone looking to dive in.

Whether you're new to cybersecurity and looking for a way in, or a veteran who wants to hand someone the right recommendation, this one's your reading, watching, and playing list curated on Plaintext with Rich.

Is there a topic/term you want me to discuss next? Text me!!

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