Blackhat 🎥 2015 Movie Info

Plot Summary

A nuclear plant in Hong Kong goes into meltdown when a hacker causes the coolant pumps to overheat and explode. Soon after, the Chicago Mercantile Exchange is hacked, causing soy futures to rise. The Chinese government and FBI determine that the hack was performed using a remote access tool. Captain Chen Dawai of the People’s Liberation Army cyberwarfare unit is tasked with finding the hacker and enlists the aid of his sister Lien, a networking engineer. He meets with FBI Special Agent Carol Barrett in Los Angeles and reveals core parts of the code in the tool was written by himself and Nicholas Hathaway, his college roommate, during their time at MIT. Dawai requests that Hathaway, who is in prison for hacking banks, be offered a temporary release in exchange for his services.

Hathaway, knowing how necessary he is to the investigation, demands new terms: his prison sentence commuted if his assistance leads to the hacker’s identification and capture. He is required to wear an ankle bracelet monitor and be accompanied by deputy U.S. Marshal Mark Jessup. Hathaway manipulates the update system on Jessup’s phone GPS that tracks his location, allowing him to follow his own lead and arrange a meeting with the hacker’s partner at a restaurant. While they wait, he tells Lien about his past, but the partner does not arrive. Hathaway discovers a camera watching them and, following it to the connected computer, messages the hacker that he is now on his trail.

Clues uncovered by Dawai and Barrett lead the team to Hong Kong, where they work with Police Inspector Alex Trang. The team traces the stock trade money to a paramilitary operative named Elias Kassar. Hathaway, Jessup, Chen, and Trang, along with a Special Duties Unit team, raid Kassar’s hideout, and a shootout ensues in a drainage tunnel, resulting in the deaths of Trang and several officers as Kassar and his men escape.

Meet the Cast