If you watch movies, you think hacking involves a guy in a dark room typing furiously against a green screen. He's trying to "break the firewall" or "decrypt the mainframe."

In reality, hacking is rarely that hard.

Why spend weeks trying to crack a complex digital lock when I can just ask you to open the door for me?

This is called Social Engineering, but that's just a fancy word for "conning people." And the number one tool in a hacker's toolkit isn't a virus. It's your own desire to be a nice person.

The "Coffee Cup" Trick

Picture this: You are walking into your office building. It's a secure building; you need a keycard to tap in.

A guy runs up behind you. He's dressed nicely — maybe in a suit, or maybe in a delivery uniform. He's juggling four coffees and a box of donuts. He looks stressed. He smiles at you helplessly and says, "I'm so sorry, I forgot my badge, could you grab the door?"

What do you do?

If you are a normal, decent human being, you hold the door. You've been trained since kindergarten to help people. You don't want to be the jerk who slams the door in the face of the guy bringing breakfast.

Congratulations, you just breached your company's physical security.

You didn't do it because you are stupid. You did it because you are polite.

The Urgency Trap

Hackers know that when human beings panic, our IQ drops. We stop thinking critically and start acting on instinct.

This is why you get those texts: "Bank Alert: Your account is suspended. Click here to fix it."

If I send you an email that says, "Please review this document when you have a moment," you might ignore it. You might check the sender. You might be suspicious.

But if I send you an email that says, "URGENT: Payroll error. Confirm details immediately or you won't get paid on Friday," your brain skips the "suspicion" phase and jumps straight to "panic" mode. You click the link because you are afraid of missing a paycheck.

They are hacking your adrenaline, not your computer.

The Fix: Be a Little Bit Rude

This is uncomfortable advice, but modern security requires us to unlearn some social graces.

To be secure, you have to be willing to be the "bad guy" in a social interaction.

• When the nice guy with the coffees asks you to hold the door: You have to say, "I'm sorry, I can't let you in without a badge." It feels rude. It feels awkward. But it's necessary.
• When "IT Support" calls and asks for your password: You have to say, "I'm going to hang up and call the official help desk number to verify this."
• When a stranger asks to borrow your phone because of an "emergency": You have to say no. (Because while you watch them "call their mom," they could be Venmo-ing themselves your money).

Stop Looking for the Matrix

We spend so much time worrying about the high-tech stuff — VPNs, encrypted drives, complex passwords. Those are important.

But the strongest lock in the world doesn't matter if you open the door because someone asked nicely.

The next time you feel pressured, rushed, or overly helpful online or in-person… pause. Take a breath. It's okay to be skeptical. It's okay to be slow. And sometimes, it's okay to be rude.

Thanks for reading up to these lines, Numan