Zero Days

Filmmaker Alex Gibney shines a bright light on the dark world of cyber warfare in this suspenseful documentary thriller recounting the development, deployment, and discovery of the cyber weapon known as Stuxnet. “Zero Days” refers to hidden computer software vulnerabilities that hackers using computer worms can exploit to adversely affect not only computer networks but the physical infrastructure they control. These are no mere computer viruses but the next generation of lethal weapons. The Stuxnet worm is the most sophisticated type of hacking seen by cyber-intelligence experts and it represents just the tip of the spear in a virtual international arms race. Although Stuxnet’s ultimate goal of shutting down one nuclear processing plant in Iran failed, the covert operation raises critical questions about the nature of warfare and who gets to conduct it. Zero Days is ultimately a call-to-action to address the issue of cyber-attacks and the implications for public policy if or when diplomacy fails. For revealing the cloak-and-dagger politics behind a digital war that affects the security of every country and people around the world, a Peabody Award goes to Zero Days.