Travis Doering (born July 14, 1991, in Vancouver, British Columbia) is a Canadian systems analyst, writer and film producer.

Travis Doering
Doering in Classified: The Edward Snowden Story pitch video released September 5, 2013
Born (1991-07-14) July 14, 1991 (age 33)
Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada
NationalityCanadian
Occupation(s)systems analyst, writer and film producer.
Years active2006–present

Career

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Doering is best known for his work as a security consultant and writer, in both the film and news media. In 2018 Doering revealed one of the largest data breaches in Canadian history affecting millions of customers of defunct computer retailer NCIX.[1] In 2015, via the now defunct website Hacker Film Blog,[2] Doering revealed vulnerabilities in Apple's iCloud platform and the breach and subsequent theft of customer data from internet security software company "Bitdefender".[3] In the film industry Doering has served as a technical consultant providing hacking and information technology dialogue on several film and television productions including the Canadian science fiction series "Continuum", the police procedural "Motive" and the American zombie film "Dead Rising: Endgame”.[4] In addition to his work in media, Doering also serves as a systems analyst providing information security consultancy services for high risk individuals and businesses since 2006.[5] Before writing Doering worked in the casting and production department on many Canadian and American film and television productions.[6]

Security research

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In September 2018, Doering posted an editorial titled NCIX Data Breach on the blog of his cyber security company Privacy Fly. It outlined a severe data breach at a bankrupt Canadian retailer NCIX in which millions of business records detailing 15 years' worth of transactions was sold in a series of backroom deals. The editorial prompted an investigation into the sale by the RCMP and Office of the Information and Privacy Commissioner of British Columbia, as well as a civil lawsuit.[7] In July 2015, Doering created the Hacker Film Blog[8] where he co-authored an article about a security breach at antivirus maker BitDefender.[9] The story was later picked up by Forbes,[10] The Washington Times,[11] and PC World. Two months later in September 2015, Doering posted a documentary titled "Vulnerability: The Secrets Behind iCloud Hacking”. The documentary exposed vulnerabilities being exploited by an underground hacking collective known as RipSec, whose members breached over eleven thousand iCloud accounts, a significant portion of which belonged to Hollywood celebrities like Amanda Seyfried, Kate Mara, and Jamie Foxx.[12]

Edward Snowden movie

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In September 2013, Doering and Film Director Jason Bourque set out to crowdfund a feature film titled "Classified: The Edward Snowden Story".[13] "Classified" was a biographical feature film based on the life of NSA leaker Edward Snowden, in January 2014 production was shut down and the project was cancelled after losing several key donators due to not reaching their total 1.7 million dollar funding goal. When the production was shut down Bourque and Doering announced that "Classified" would be split into two separate projects one titled "Vulnerability",[14] a documentary that focuses on IT security and the internet. The second, a feature film based on Snowden's life that would be produced in cooperation with likeminded production companies and film distributors in the near future. In January 2014 existing backers from "Classified" had the option to transfer their donations to "Vulnerability" or have the funds fully refunded. "Vulnerability" was released on September 25, 2015.

Filmography

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Feature credits

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Year Title Producer Technical Consultant Writer
2016 Dead Rising: Endgame[15] Yes
2015 Vulnerability[16] Yes Yes
2012 Skyfall Yes

Television credits

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Year Title Producer Technical Consultant Writer
2012–2015 Continuum Yes
2013–2016 Motive Yes
2013 Hacked: Illusions of Security[17] Yes

References

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  1. ^ Robinson, Kristen (September 21, 2018). "Thousands of Canadians' personal data from NCIX servers listed on Craigslist: cybersecurity expert". Global News. Retrieved October 10, 2018.
  2. ^ Cimpanu, Catalin (August 1, 2015). "Bitdefender User Database Breached, Hacker Attempts to Extort Company". Softpedia. Retrieved July 8, 2017.
  3. ^ Constantin, Lucian (July 31, 2015). "Hacker steals login credentials of Bitdefender business users, attempts blackmail". PC World. Retrieved July 8, 2017.
  4. ^ Reid, Michael (December 19, 2013). "Big Picture: Victoria-raised director plans to file-share Snowden biopic". Times Colonist. Retrieved July 8, 2017.
  5. ^ Iyer, Kavita (September 25, 2015). "How 'RipSec' made its way to Hollywood with the iCloud celebrity hack". Tech Worm. Retrieved July 8, 2017.
  6. ^ Rardon, JR (December 12, 2015). "Holiday movie filming around mid-Island area". Nanaimo Daily News. Retrieved July 8, 2017.
  7. ^ Proctor, Jason (September 25, 2018). "Proposed class action lawsuit claims data breach exposed personal information of 258,000 people". CBC News. Retrieved October 10, 2018.
  8. ^ McPeake, Dan (July 29, 2015). "Antivirus Maker Bitdefender Hacked, Customer Data Being Sold in Shady Black Market Deals". Hacker Film. Retrieved April 8, 2016.
  9. ^ Osborne, Charlie (August 3, 2015). "Bitdefender suffers data breach, customer records stolen". ZDNet. Retrieved July 18, 2017.
  10. ^ Fox-Brewster, Thomas (July 31, 2015). "Anti-Virus Firm BitDefender Admits Breach, Hacker Claims Stolen Passwords Are Unencrypted". Forbes. Retrieved July 18, 2017.
  11. ^ Blake, Andrew (July 31, 2015). "Anti-virus maker BitDefender admits hacker stole user data". The Washington Times. Retrieved July 18, 2017.
  12. ^ Darren, Pauli (September 25, 2015). "'RipSec' goes to Hollywood: how the iCloud celeb hack happened". The Register. Retrieved July 18, 2017.
  13. ^ Kharpal, Arjun (September 10, 2013). "Filmmakers look to crowdfunding for Snowden movie". CNBC. Retrieved April 8, 2014.
  14. ^ Master, Web (April 8, 2013). "Official Website". Snowden.sx. Archived from the original on January 3, 2014. Retrieved April 8, 2014.
  15. ^ "Dead Rising: Endgame IMDB". IMDb. Retrieved July 17, 2017.
  16. ^ "Vulnerability IMDB". IMDb. Retrieved March 2, 2014.
  17. ^ Morton, Ben (May 28, 2012). "Feature film sector slows as TV production ramps up". Vancouver Sun. Retrieved September 26, 2013.
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