Cyber Security is an evolving industry where new trends and technologies are coming consistently.
Companies and organizations are spending millions to keep their security updated to protect their data from cyber-attacks, leading to more job opportunities in the market.
If you’ve some interest in security, technology, and ethical hacking, then cyber security can be a great field to study.
In this article, we’ll recommend 11 top-rated cyber security documentaries readily available on the web.
What is Cyber Security?
Cyber Security is a technology that protects computer systems, sensitive data, servers, mobile devices & networks from any malicious attacks or cyber-attacks.
It is also known as Information Technology (IT) security, which ensures data protection for the company’s sensitive data from cyber-attacks, including accessing confidential data, changing or destroying data, extorting money, damaging business processes, or stealing users’ details.
With the increased number of cyber attacks, it becomes essential to use cyber security to protect data.
Best Documentaries on Cyber Security You Should Watch
One can watch several documentaries to make oneself knowledgeable about the cyber security branch.
The below-titled documentaries are one of the best-rated ones in the industry, with high IMDB ratings and great content. Let’s check them out.
1. Zero Days
- Published in: 2016
- IMDb Rating: 7.7
- Duration: 1 hrs 56 mins
The documentary focuses on a computer malware named Stuxnet. The malware is a self-replicating one made by The USA and Israel. They made the malware to decapitate one of the integral parts of an Iranian nuclear facility.
Unfortunately, the virus spreads way beyond its target and causes a massive threat to the local population in Iran. Watch how the story unfolds when people try to restrict the impact of the malware.
2. The Internet’s Own Boy: The Story of Aaron Swartz
- Published: 2014
- IMDb rating: 8.0
- Duration: 2 Hrs
As the name of the documentary suggests, it revolves around the life of Aaron Swartz, an American programmer, political personality, and internet activist.
It features various interviews with his friends and his family members and the legal battles that led the man to commit suicide.
The documentary is intense and marvelously portrayed. Rotten Tomatoes has a 93% rating on the documentary.
📌 Relevant read: Learn how technology Influences cyber security
3. Citizenfour
- Published: 2014
- IMDb rating: 8.0
- Duration: 1 Hr 53 Min
The documentary was Oscar-nominated. The story is about Edward Snowden. It shows how a person named Laura Poitras receives different emails that are encrypted.
The information in the emails shows the government’s various covert missions. These missions were classified information and shouldn’t be publicly available.
Thus Laura and a reporter named Glenn Greenwald reach Hong Kong to search for the sender, only to come across Snowden. Watch to know how the story unfolds.
4. The KGB, the Computer, and Me
- Published: 1990
- IMDb rating: 7.8
- Duration: 1 hour
It is more like a movie than a documentary, but the film is one of a kind and deserves a place on the list. It portrays the story of Clifford Stoll, a computer scientist working in the Lawrence Berkley Laboratory. It was 1986.
The man finds some discrepancy in the system and finds out that somebody hacked the system. Later it shows the involvement of the KGB and how the story evolves.
Watch the movie to know how people could hack systems even back in the 80s.
5. The Secret History of Hacking
- Published: 2001
- IMDb rating: 7.6
- Duration: 50 mins
The documentary shows how John Draper and Denny Teresi progress from phreaking to becoming computer hobbyists to hacking and finally to hacking into computer securities.
Steve Wozniak is the one narrating the story in the documentary.
Another thing that it focuses on is how society has also become fearful of the increase in the rate of cyber crimes.
6. Code 2600
- Published: 2012
- IMDb rating: 7.1
- Duration: 1 Hrs 22 Mins
More than focusing the story on a particular human being, the documentary talks about how technology and computer advancements are manipulating society.
It shows how sensitive data is to get hacked and privacy compromised. It shows the socio-technical fallout and is an excellent documentary to learn from.
It documents the info-tech age we are currently living in.
📌 Related list of documentaries: Top AI documentaries to watch this year
7. Snowden
- Published: 2016
- IMDb rating: 7.3
- Duration: 2 Hrs 14 Mins
If you are highly intrigued by the life of Edward Snowden and want something more like a film rather than a documentary, this is something you would love to watch.
Available on Netflix and Prime video, it features how a person named Oliver Stone wants to unveil Edward’s controversial story and what was his motive behind infiltrating the NSA’s covert activities.
8. Hacking Democracy
- Published: 2006
- IMDb rating: 7.8
- Duration: 1 Hr 22 Mins
It is a 2006 Emmy-nominated documentary focusing on how the internet and hacking can help elect governments worldwide.
The film features a grandmother named Bev Harris, who goes out on a hunt to discover how her motherland, The USA, counts the votes during elections.
Her discoveries were shocking because she found that one can steal votes, which one can never trace.
The documentary revolves around the fight between the grandmother and the company that made the voting machines.
9. Deep Web
- Published: 2015
- IMDb rating: 7.0
- Duration: 1 HR 30 mins
We all know what bitcoin and NFT are, but do we understand how these concepts came into being?
The documentary talks about the rise of a decentralized internet where most things are encrypted, dangerous, and things that are beyond the jurisdiction of the government.
It focuses on the ‘rise’ of the Deep Web and the Dark Web and how the FBI seizes the hidden services of Tor.
10. Revolution OS
- Published: 2001
- IMDb rating: 7.3
- Duration: 1 Hr 26 Mins
The documentary focuses on creating the open-source operating system known as Linux. It revolves around how Linus Torvalds created and openly distributed the software to people letting the word out that Linux is more powerful than Microsoft’s Windows.
It also shows the ideological clash between Gate’s Microsoft and Torvalds’ Linux and the start of the ‘Open source Movement.’ It is an excellent documentary for tech enthusiasts and history lovers.
11. We are Legion: The Story of the Hacktivists
- Published: 2012
- IMDb rating: 7.2
- Duration: 1 Hr 34 Mins
The documentary talks about how civil disobedience spreads in the digital world due to hacking and spreading false propaganda. It dives into the encrypted world of the ‘Anonymous hacktivists.’
It features the cyber attacks during the Arab Spring Movement and the technical support during the Occupy movement.
They were self-declared activists who thought themselves to be the upholders of free speech and protectors of internet freedom. Watch the documentary to get hooked on it.
Final Words
The documentaries listed above are all one-of-a-kind features. Some may have lesser IMDb ratings than others, but that doesn’t make the films less attractive.
Some are old yet gold, while some are the new ones projecting new ways by which cyber criminals are attacking the internet nowadays.
Watch these documentaries not only to entertain but also to make yourself more knowledgeable.
10Pie Editorial Team is a team of knowledgeable writers and editors with experience in the technology field. Learn more about our editorial process to ensure the quality and accuracy of the content published on our website.