Just got back from the new Pierce-Brosnan-as-007 flick. It had a few typical "hacker" stereotypes, and a couple of interesting crypto relevant references.

Here's the cypherpunk rewrite of the movie...

* Boris, the stereotypical hacker, was hacking through American banks. A screen had the words "Department of Justice" and the DoJ logo; underneath were the words "Clipper Chip" and a list of banks.

...bought the clipper codes from some guy at the DOJ for $100. (gets a discount rate - normal rate is $200)

* The archvillian's plan involved a massive money transfer and an EMP pulse; he very briefly explained the effects of what would happen if every computer in London were rendered non- functional. Possible crypto-anarchy bits.

No need. All the banks are using DES, which has suddenly become strong again. (only for another 10 years, of course)

* Boris should learn the value of strong passphrases. His password for the massive mainframe which will be used in the archvillain's scheme is a five-letter dictionary word, which didn't change (and it was used on two different computers), and he revealed it indirectly (it was a word puzzle).

..hacked the account from some guy in Microsloth network security, who doesn't know yet that anyone else is using it.

* A few on-computer-screen references to "encryption".

* Boris and the mastermind kept bantering about "breaking codes."

It really is annoying to try to break 40bit keys realtime. Why couldn't they have been only 32 bits or something...

* Boris' computer in Russia - in his apartment - has a domain ending in ".comp.math.edu"; when his screen lights up with the words "INCOMING EMAIL" he goes into a live chat (complete with graphics).

Using Weidei's TCP tunneler to submarine his computer so that it _REALLY_IS_ under that domain. (After all, someone would probably suspect kgb.com or UofHack.edu.ussr domains) Re chat with graphics: isn't X great?! Have to remember to hack into a T3 though, this lag is really slowing the feed down... Makes the movie longer, ya know. Plus, techies will get a thrill if movie shows doom being played remotely. There you have it. Suitable for any cryptoanarchists' night out. Don PS: Anyone know about ML, the IMAP mail program? Just installed the new version at home and noticed I haven't seen the PGP hooks in the configuration like I did on earlier versions. Hmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm