The Net (1995) Timeline Explained – Every Event in Order

Bergstrom's HIV test was tampered with because he opposed the Gatekeeper security software manufactured by Gregg Microsystems. As Undersecretary of Defense, he discovered the software had serious vulnerabilities and planned to expose them. The Praetorians, in collaboration with Gregg Microsystems, altered his test results to make him appear HIV positive, leading to his suicide and eliminating a major obstacle to their conspiracy.

• bergstrom
• hiv test
• gatekeeper
• conspiracy
• murder

After losing the disk in the dinghy accident, Jack Devlin used the backdoor access from the compromised Gatekeeper system to manipulate police records and erase Angela's digital existence. Her Social Security number was reassigned to a criminal named Ruth Marx, her bank accounts were closed, her car disappeared, and her home was sold out from under her. This left her with no verifiable identity.

• identity theft
• devlin
• ruth marx
• ssn
• erased

Gatekeeper was a widely-used security system manufactured by Gregg Microsystems that protected critical computer networks for major corporations and government agencies, including the New York Stock Exchange. The floppy disk Angela received contained a backdoor into this system, which the Praetorians planned to exploit to cause widespread chaos and profit from the resulting instability.

• gatekeeper
• gregg microsystems
• security
• backdoor
• nysc

Dale's plane crash appeared to be caused by a navigation malfunction, but given the context of the conspiracy, it was almost certainly deliberate. He was supposed to meet Angela in person to discuss the disk he sent her, and eliminating him prevented him from revealing what he knew about the backdoor or warning her of the danger.

• dale
• plane crash
• conspiracy
• eliminated

The Praetorians were a cyberterrorist group working with Gregg Microsystems to cause massive computer failures across the country. Their plan was to exploit the Gatekeeper backdoor to create widespread chaos in financial systems and infrastructure, which would increase demand for Gregg's security products and generate massive profits for the company.

• praetorians
• cyberterrorist
• gregg microsystems
• chaos

Devlin had been monitoring Angela's online activity through her internet connection. When Angela confronted him about reading her private messages in the cybersecurity chat rooms, he revealed he had been tracking her communications the entire time. This allowed him to anticipate her moves and orchestrate events like the mugging and the interception of her plans to meet CyberBob.

• devlin
• tracking
• online
• cyberbob
• surveillance

Ruth Marx was the criminal whose identity had been stolen and assigned to Angela's Social Security number. During the confrontation at the Moscone Center, Devlin attacked Marx, mistaking her for Angela since they shared the same identity. When Devlin realized his mistake and that Marx was not the woman he was hunting, he killed her to eliminate the witness and continue his pursuit of Angela.

• devlin
• ruth marx
• moscone center
• killed wrong person

The floppy disk contained a backdoor program that provided unauthorized access to the Gatekeeper security system used by major corporations and government agencies. The disk was marked with the Pi symbol, which identified it as part of the Praetorians' operation. This backdoor could be used to manipulate stock trades, access confidential data, and infiltrate critical infrastructure.

• floppy disk
• backdoor
• gatekeeper
• pi symbol
• mozart's ghost

Alan Champion, Angela's former lover and psychiatrist, was killed because he was helping her investigate the conspiracy. After Angela uncovered that Bergstrom was murdered through tampered hospital records, Champion used his FBI connections to assist her and ensure her mother's safety. The Praetorians eliminated him by tampering with hospital records to make his death appear natural, removing someone who posed a threat to their operation.

• alan champion
• killed
• hospital records
• fbi
• conspiracy

Angela infiltrated Cathedral Software's office and used her hacking skills to access and transmit evidence connecting Gregg Microsystems to the Praetorians. She sent this evidence to the FBI while simultaneously confronting Devlin at the Moscone Center, where they fought for control of the Gatekeeper system. Her actions led to Jeff Gregg's arrest during a live broadcast and the exposure of the entire conspiracy.

• angela
• fbi
• gregg
• exposed
• evidence
• cathedral software

Devlin's sole purpose in approaching Angela was to recover the floppy disk containing the Gatekeeper backdoor. He deliberately targeted her in Cozumel, gained her trust through a romantic setup, and then orchestrated the mugging as a cover to steal the disk. When the mugging didn't yield the disk as quickly as he hoped, he chased down the mugger himself to retrieve it, revealing his true motives.

• devlin
• mugging
• cozumel
• disk
• deception

Angela's mother, who has Alzheimer's disease living in an institution, became a vulnerability the conspirators could exploit. Alan Champion assured Angela he would ensure her mother's safety while she investigated the conspiracy. After Champion was murdered, Angela's ability to protect her mother was compromised, but the conspiracy was ultimately exposed before any harm could come to her.

• mother
• alzheimer's
• protection
• safety
• institution