24: Art Imitating Reality?

Die-hard fans of the Fox Emmy-winning drama 24 enjoyed two full episodes Sunday night that focused on a breach of the firewall that protects the national infrastructure. Sound familiar?

It makes sense that a show focused on counter terrorism would draw plotlines from the real world, and in this particular case it seems to have done just that. In the show, terrorists hack into the air traffic control system, taking over communication with pilots of two commercial flights and leading them on a collision course at JFK airport. In the very last moments before disaster, a former federal agent-turned terrorist instructs one pilot to pull up, then warns the FAA: "Whatever we do next will be the real thing."

There have been a number of reports and Congressional hearings recently focusing on the possibility that terrorists could hack into the networks used to manage critical industries, including energy, transportation and chemicals. Widespread concern stems primarily from the now infamous Aurora project, which involved a demonstration by researchers at the Idaho National Laboratory for the Homeland Security Department in how they could go online to hack into the programs that control the operations of a generator and manipulate settings so it would self-destruct.

That's not to say the events that take place on 24 mirror reality. In a two-hour span, the FBI pulled former counter terrorism agent Jack Bauer out of a Senate hearing where he was giving testimony and briefed him on highly classified information. Jack then interrogates a dealer of gray market technology; chases down a sniper; and tackles the terrorist in charge of the cyberattack -- all despite being investigated for human rights violations for his interrogation tactics. No, this is not based on true events, even if it does make for good television.

As an intelligence analyst with the Defense Department said when asked about the television show: "What happens on 24 is no more real than the character of Jack Bauer."