The Escalation Principle

Knowing when you're out of your depth is a security skill. The person who handles a potential security incident beyond their expertise — guessing, improvising, potentially making it worse — is more dangerous than the person who escalates immediately. This is not a sign of weakness. It's a sign of professional judgment.

There's a simple principle that makes escalation decisions much clearer: when in doubt, say something. Not "when absolutely certain there's a problem." When in doubt. The cost of escalating a false alarm is low. The cost of not escalating a real incident and hoping it goes away is high.