Nikto - The Web App Scanning Tool - It's Origin

One of my esteemed colleagues was familiar with the popular open source web application scanning tools, Nikto, but was unaware of the origin of the name.

As I mentioned, Nikto is a popular web application scanning tool. It's built into Kali Linux, and there's a version for Windows called Wikto.

The name is derived from a line in a classic 1951 Sci-fi film called "The Day The Earth Stood Still".

The phrase "Klaatu Barada Nikto" was spoken to keep a robot named Gort from destroying the earth.

It was a kind of a verbal Dead Man's Switch.

There's also a remake of the film from 2008 with Keeanu Reeves. While I like the remake, I don't believe the iconic phrase was ever spoken in the new version.

Both are worth checking out. Both movies, that is. The tool too, of course.