The entirety of Netflix’s Zero Day centers around the fallout of the Zero Day Attack, and here’s what happened, how it happened, and who did it. Zero Day takes place in the aftermath of a devastating worldwide cyberattack, one that led to countless deaths and destabilized the entirety of the United States of America. The majority of Zero Day‘s story is about George Mullen and the Zero Day Commission attempting to uncover who was behind the attack and how they pulled it off. So, here is everything that the Netflix miniseries reveals about the truth behind the attack.

Netflix’s Zero Day has been fully released, with all six episodes now available to watch on the streaming platform. The series follows Robert De Niro’s George Mullen, a former president who is appointed as the head of the Zero Day Commission after the Zero Day Attack. In the weeks following the attack, Mullen’s tactics become increasingly authoritarian while the paths he sends the commission on become increasingly unrelated to the main case. However, Mullen eventually gets on the right track, uncovering the true culprits behind the Zero Day Attack and finding out how they did it.

How Monica Kidder Used Panoply To Cause The Zero Day Attack

The Apps Allowed The Technology To Be Shut Down

Throughout Zero Day, Robert De Niro’s George Mullen and the Zero Day Commission come up with a variety of explanations as to how the Zero Day Attack was pulled off. Their first theory is that it is a piece of Russian malware used to destabilize the United States, with the code containing the phrase “midan,” referencing the real-world Euromidan event. However, Mullen eventually began to believe that a left-wing extremist group from within the United States was behind the attack. After investigating this for a while, Mullen came to a different conclusion: the Zero Day Attack was carried out by government officials and wealthy elites.

Monica Kidder, the wealthy tech mogul behind Panoply, was one of the masterminds behind the plan. The Zero Day Attack was only able to be carried out thanks to to Monica Kidder’s incredibly popular apps. As Zero Day explains, Kidder’s apps are so popular that they are on 80% of all phones. Because of this, they became the perfect weapon to access nearly every bit of technology in the world. Kidder’s apps contained a bit of code that allowed them to hack into the various technology systems, with them being so widespread that it could cause a nationwide blackout.

The malicious software in Monica Kidder’s apps affected more than phones. It was actually able to make the jump to other pieces of technology thanks to the wired and wireless connections that phones with her apps have made. Things like USB, Bluetooth, and more made it possible for the conspirators to carry out the Zero Day Attack, with any transportation, medical, or other type of technological system that can connect to phones being vulnerable to the attack. As the show explains, Monica Kidder’s apps acted as a Trojan horse, turning each phone into a deadly weapon.

Everyone Who Was Involved In Zero Day

The Politicians & The Elites

All kinds of conspirators were involved in the Zero Day Attack, with many main Zero Day cast members having a hand in the cyberattack. The aforementioned tech mogul Monica Kidder played a key role in the Zero Day Attack, with her apps being the Trojan horse that allowed the attacks to be carried out. However, she was far from the only conspirator.

House Speaker Richard Dryer, played by Matthew Modine, was one of the most significant members of the Zero Day conspiracy. He acted as the ringleader of the criminals, with him organizing the various individuals who were involved and making sure that the attack could be carried out. Richard Dryer’s position within the government played a key role in covering up the conspiracy for so long, with him constantly pushing back against George Mullen and the Zero Day Commission’s attempts to find the true conspirators.

Richard Dryer wasn’t the only government official involved in the Zero Day Attack though. George Mullen’s own daughter, Alexandra Mullen, also played a role in the conspiracy. Alexandra Mullen was talked into joining the group of criminals by Richard Dryer, with her believing that it was truly what was best for the country. However, Alexandra eventually grew to regret her decision, with her admitting her role to her father. A variety of other Congress people were also aware of the Zero Day Attack before it was carried out, with George naming several of them in the Zero Day finale.

The final major player in the Zero Day Attack Robert Lyndon, played by Clark Gregg. Robert Lyndon is a wealthy investor who shorted the market in the days leading up to the Zero Day Attack. Lyndon also communicated with the various co-conspirators online, something that was seen in the scenes on his yacht. When TV host Evan Green began talking about Lydon on his show, Lyndon even doctored photos in order to frame him and throw the Zero Day Commission off his trail.

Why Monica Kidder, Richard Dreyer, And Alex Mullen Wanted Zero Day To Happen

They Thought It Would Bring The Country Back Together

Despite the Zero Day Attack leading to all kinds of death, most of the perpetrators behind the attack believed that it would lead to a greater good. The politicians who were involved believed that the country had become too divided in recent years. They thought that a mass tragedy would bring the country back together, allowing legislation to be passed and progress to be made. That is why they carried out the Zero Day Attack, but it didn’t work in the way that they thought. Instead, the actions of the Zero Day Commission only divided the country further, with the politicians getting caught in the end.

Robert Lyndon had an entirely different motive. Lyndon most likely didn’t care about the political aspect of the attack, with him instead seeing it as an opportunity to further his wealth. As the show explains, Lyndon shorted the market ahead of the Zero Day Attack, with him profiting from the financial instability that the attack caused. Each of the perpetrators used the Zero Day Attack to line their pockets and further their agendas, with George Mullen discovering this by the end of Zero Day.