Britain’s top cyber intelligence team gave Washington an inside look this week at its new collaboration with Hollywood, as part of an effort to bring its secret world onto the silver screen.
Britain’s National Cyber Security Centre shared new details about its work with American film director Steven Soderbergh on his film “Black Bag,” at a private screening organized by the British government and Comcast.
NCSC Chief Operating Officer Felicity Oswald said her team worked to make the psychological spy thriller “as accurate as possible” with Mr. Soderbergh and his producers. Mr. Soderbergh is known for his award-winning films such as “Erin Brockovich” and the “Ocean’s” trilogy of heist movies featuring a star-studded ensemble led by actor George Clooney.
“Those of you who’ve worked in this sector for some time will know that just like medics watching ’Grey’s Anatomy,’ we always have that moment of squirm where maybe it’s not quite the same,” Ms. Oswald told the audience before the film began. “And whilst we had nothing to do with the story line or the script, what we did get a chance to do with Steven Soderbergh and his team was invite them into our office to see the environment we work in and to help them ensure that where we could, we made it as accurate as possible.”
The film stars Cate Blanchett and Michael Fassbender as British intelligence officers caught up in the hunt for a traitor in their ranks who has knowledge of a lethal cyber weapon.
Comcast’s Noopur Davis, the company’s global chief information security officer, joked that Ms. Oswald was “the real-life equivalent of Kathryn” — Ms. Blanchett’s character.
Having seen the film, Ms. Oswald said she would let the audience decide which character she resembles in the drama about suspected turncoats.
“I’m pitching for Michael Fassbender but I’ll leave that up to you,” she told the audience. “I have seen the movie. I promise I won’t give any spoiler alerts, but it is a fantastic opportunity to have a conversation about cyber and for our friends and family to learn a little bit of what we do.”
The new film has opened to generally strong reviews from critics and the viewing public. New Yorker film critic Richard Brody said the actors do a good job, but “the real star is the technology of spycraft: [Mr. Soderbergh] grimly delights in exposing its eerie powers and potentially devastating uses.”
As America’s cyber and foreign policies are under review by the Trump administration, Britain is looking to add friends and influence people through its promotion of the spy film abroad.
Ms. Oswald said as the NCSC’s COO she never imagined she would be presenting a Hollywood film to an audience of cyber professionals, as there are “less explosions and guns in my day job.”
“The mission of the NCSC is to make the U.K. the safest place to live and work online,” Ms. Oswald said. “And opportunities like today give us a chance to work on that, to have a conversation about what cyber is, what it means in the same way as so many of our national security counterparts have had the opportunity to do through espionage movies.”
