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James T. Kirk is infamously known for (among many other things) having hacked his way through the Kobiyashi Maru test. However, I can't think of any other times we've seen him exhibit any extraordinary computing (let alone hacking) skills.

Are there other canonical examples of Kirk himself breaking into computer systems?

Iszi
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    I think he just plays the fight music and scares them into submission. – Xantec Feb 27 '13 at 19:09
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    On a more serious note, in the deleted scenes of Star Trek (2009) Kirk wasn't the one who modified the test parameters. It was instead supposed to have been the Orion woman he was intimate with who did it for him. – Xantec Feb 27 '13 at 19:10
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    I think that you can chalk up another conquest for James Tiberius. He very likely slept with a programmer and got her to do it for him. – coleopterist Feb 27 '13 at 19:10
  • @Xantec Cool to know. However, even if the scene hadn't been deleted, that's only good for alternate-universe Kirk. – Iszi Feb 27 '13 at 19:13
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    Not necessarily. He says he cheated and altered the test, but I don't believe it was ever established in prior canon that he was the one who actually carried out said programming. I go with @coleopterist, and imagine he probably did something similar in the "real" timeline too. – eidylon Feb 27 '13 at 19:17
  • @eidylon I agree it is a possibility in the prime universe, but (had the scene not been deleted) ST2K9 would have established the fact only in the alternate universe. In any case, this question isn't about whether Kirk really did or did not do the hacking of Kobiyashi Maru himself - it's about whether we see other examples of him performing such acts. – Iszi Feb 27 '13 at 19:21
  • To clarify a bit more: My specification in the question of "Kirk himself" is to mark a difference between episodes or movies where computer hacking (on the part of Enterprise's crew, or the adversary-of-the-day) is featured, as opposed to hacking feats actually performed by Kirk. – Iszi Feb 27 '13 at 19:25
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    Kirk would definitely use social engineering to achieve computer security related goals. He's not the sort to break a system through technical means. – dmckee --- ex-moderator kitten Feb 27 '13 at 19:41
  • Perhaps you should also clarify if you want TOS/TAS/Movie Kirk or the alternate 2009 Kirk – Monty129 Feb 27 '13 at 19:41
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    @Monty129 I believe "canonical", for Star Trek, encompasses all of the above. Exclusions would be: Book/comic/fanfic Kirks. – Iszi Feb 27 '13 at 20:19
  • Not a great hack, but Wrath of Kahn - he lowers the Reliant's shields. – Zoredache Feb 27 '13 at 21:04
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    @Xantec I thought I remember reading that in the deleted scene, he had sent the Orion woman a love letter on a timer, and her receiving and opening it during his exam released a virus that did the reprogramming... – Izkata Feb 28 '13 at 00:11
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    @Izkata According to WP, "In the novelization of the film, the last chapter reveals that the information Kirk used to defeat the test was obtained during his trysts with an Orion girl, who talked in her sleep.". – coleopterist Mar 10 '13 at 18:13

1 Answers1

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Kirk is shown hacking the following computers and cyborgs, typically exploiting bugs in their programming in order to cause them to self-destruct:

Gareth Rees
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    Interesting how these wouldn't quite fit most expectations of one's imagination when thinking of "computer hacking". They're mostly examples of AIs being taken down by logical fallacies. I was sort of hoping to find another example more similar to his exploit of the Kobiyashi Maru (surely, he didn't do that just by talking to the computer) but I guess this is as close as we can expect to get, from an age where computer hacking wasn't nearly so much in mainstream media. – Iszi Feb 27 '13 at 21:00
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    In the Star Trek world where voice is a primary form of input instead of something like a keyboard, these exploits really are a future form of hacking. – Caimen Feb 27 '13 at 21:53
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    @Caimen Yup, the closest thing to computer programming we usually see in Star Trek is when people are making things on the holodeck. And it's all 'computer, create this', 'computer, make this behave in a certain way' and so on, all entirely verbal. –  Feb 28 '13 at 01:15
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    @Keen Ah, but let's not forget Scotty in ST4. "Hello, computer." – Iszi Feb 28 '13 at 05:06
  • @Keen one exception would be the Binars. – Caimen Feb 28 '13 at 17:41
  • And Data! He has sort of an unique ability with computers, when he programs a computer to do in minutes what would have taken years. – Davidmh Aug 08 '14 at 00:21
  • He also verbally hacked the android Ruk (Lurch) in What Are Little Girls Made Of into attacking his master, whe has to kill (destroy) him.

    Kirk, while being guarded by Ruk, convinces the android that his master Korby is a threat to his continued existence and must be destroyed --wikip

     – Hannover Fist Oct 27 '16 at 23:58