Put your hand up!
I came across the phrase “Putting your hand up is half the battle” on my LinkedIn feed recently, used in a completely different context. But it stuck with me.
It reminded me how powerful social platforms can be as spaces for inspiration. Sometimes a post meant for one topic sparks a whole new idea in another field. In this case, that simple phrase sparked an entire conversation about cybersecurity, courage, and culture.
In cyber security industry, putting your hand up, saying “something feels off”, can make all the difference between a minor incident and a major breach.
“Putting Your Hand Up Is Half the Battle”
Why Being a Little Nosy Might Just Save Your Company
In school, putting your hand up usually meant one of three things:
- You knew the answer
- You definitely didn’t
- You needed to go to the toilet and didn’t want to explode
Fast forward to your day job, and things aren’t all that different, except now, putting your hand up might stop a ransomware infection, preserve your company’s reputation, or keep your boss from stress-eating biscuits in a broom cupboard.
Cyber Threats Love Silence
Let’s be clear: most successful cyberattacks thrive not because someone clicked a dodgy link, but because no one said anything afterward. We’re trained to be polite, to double-check, to think, “It’s probably nothing.”
Spoiler: it’s often not nothing.
Putting Your Hand Up in the Cybersecurity World Means:
- You noticed a weird email from the BISO or Director asking for gift cards
- A customer just sent you a “PDF” that has the charm of a booby trap
- The printer is blinking in binary Morse code and hissing like a kettle
You don’t have to know why it feels wrong, you just need to say, “Hey, can someone check this out?”
Psychological Safety Is the Real Antivirus
The most secure companies aren’t just the ones with the best firewalls. They’re the ones where Karen in Payroll feels confident enough to say, “This invoice seems odd,” without worrying she’s overreacting. (Karen, you’re a hero.)
Creating a culture that says:
- It’s okay to make a mistake
- It’s great to ask questions
- It’s better to look silly for 30 seconds than stay silent and lose everything
… is the kind of defence no tech stack can replace.
So What’s the Point?
Next time something feels off, put your hand up. Trust your gut. You don’t need to be a cyber expert, you just need to care enough to say something.
And if you lead a team, reward curiosity and courage. Make “It’s probably nothing, but…” the most celebrated phrase in your company.
Because at the end of the day, when it comes to cybersecurity, putting your hand up really is half the battle.
The other half? Well, that’s where I come in.
