Linux commands “astu” and “astsu” in Mr. Robot


People told me that the hacking in “Mr Robot” was pretty accurate. Mr Robot is a TV series about a hacker named “Elliot”. I had to see it, but until now I was lacking the time. Last Sunday was a prefect lazy day and I took the time to finally watch it. I must admit it was pretty amazing to see the inside of a data-center and all the geeky Linux command line screens in a such a popular TV series.

Linux commands “astu” and “astsu”

When Elliot (the main character) is hacking he uses two Linux commands frequently: “astu” and “astsu”. The commands play a critical role in the series. I did not know what they did, so I wondered:

Did anyone figure out what the “astsu” command is supposed to be? Did he just type random characters or what? The other commands I noticed were all real.

On which some other user on the Cyberpunk and Science Fiction board replied:

It seems to be used like sudo (or ssh) would so I guess the idea was that the company that he works for has its own way to allow safe privilege escalation and this is the tool they install astsu = AllSafe Toolkit Super User (allsafe security being the company name).

You should read the Mr. Robot Episode 1 Analysis for more detail on the actual commands used during the hacking.

Things I liked

Some things were really spot on in the series and I liked them a lot:

  1. The correctness, detail and accuracy of the hacking that goes on.
  2. Elliot has some social challenges and thus feels like an outsider.
  3. Elliot is unhappy and this is his strength, as he has nothing to lose.

But not everything was good, there was also some stuff that bothered me in the series.

Things that bothered me

Here is a list of the most annoying things in the series:

  1. Elliot uses a smart-phone and he never switches SIM or phone.
  2. Elliot’s schizophrenia is making his conspiracy thinking less genuine.
  3. Computers and downers do not match. Caffeine on the other hand…

I feel the makers of Mr. Robot should have thought these things over better. Nevertheless they made an enjoyable TV series. Recommended!



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