Not on my Watch!

For many years I’ve gone to The White Hat Ball. It's an incredible event in cybersecurity, where we come together to raise money for a U.K. charity called Childline. Each year, we hear how desperately they need more money to support children and young adults who are abused - physically, emotionally and sexually. We hear from incredible courageous survivors, too, who tell their stories. It’s always emotional, and I, like many other people there, cry, shake my head in horror, and donate money.

Year after year, The White Hat Ball and its team does an incredible job of fundraising. To date, they've raised over ￡2 million for this wonderful charity and they MUST be commended.

Last night’s event was hosted by Peter Andre. He was superb and donated his speaker’s fee to the charity as he's been an Ambassador for the NSPCC since 2006. We heard from Charlie Webster, an incredible British broadcaster and campaigner, who now has a voice, but once didn’t. She shared how she was beaten and emotionally abused by her stepfather as a child, teen and young adult. Then, how she found sanctuary in a running group, but was sexually abused for three-years by her coach, who she confided in. He preyed upon her vulnerability as he knew she had no one to report the harassment to. That’s often how this type of abuse works.

Thank God she survived. Thank God she got help. Thank God she now has a f***ing BIG voice and uses it to help other vulnerable young people.

Now you might think this story ends here, with drinks, merry making and dancing, like it normally does. It should. The group I was with, Table 60, were ready for it - FC, Dr Jessica Barker, their team at Cygenta, and the amazing Maggie Philbin, who you might know from Teen Tech, or if you’re old enough (like me) from Tomorrow’s World or Multicoloured Swap Shop in the 1970/80s! ??

But, sadly, it doesn’t.

Many of you know I do a lot of work for women in cybersecurity. I help them get into the industry, develop in it, lead in it, and have a voice in it. I also have a movement called The IN Security Movement which follows on from my book and stands behind a mission to attract, develop, and retain more women in cybersecurity. This means we focus on career journeys, campaign for higher standards within the field, and firmly believe it's the best industry to be in! ??

My IN Security Code of Conduct is wrapped around this, which serves to get more women to events and to keep them safe when they attend.

Many of you know how last year I did some groundbreaking research with over 2,147 women responding to it, globally. My aim was to ensure more women attend cybersecurity conferences and to have better experiences when they do. I wanted to be able to bench mark where we are now, to track our progress to have data driven conversations going forward. That's why I looked at three main areas:

1. Code of conduct and behaviour,
2. Women's voices, and
3. Facilities.

The research is still being analysed but it revealed that 1 in 4 women who attend cybersecurity events around the world are sexually harrassed. It is shocking. Anyway, last night I was the victim of an abuser.

Through my work supporting women, a few years ago a woman came to me. She and other women had been sexually harassed by a Managing Director at a vendor's after-show party. I encouraged her to report it to the police, which she did, and her case went to court.

Last night, this abuser attended The White Hat Ball. He was extremely intoxicated and found me when I was alone. He grabbed my hand, looked into my eyes, and started to ask me why I'd done this. At first I didn't know who he was, so I was a bit confused, but then it became apparent. The longer we spoke the more agitated he got, and it wasn't long before he was raising his voice and finger pointing in my eyes. Hurling abuse, he told me to stop doing what I was doing. I refused, and told him quite plainly that I'll continue to support and empower women, and with my #NotOnMyWatch campaign. Thankfully, people heard and Tony Richards came to my aid. The abuser left, shouting foul obscenities on his way.

Shaken but not deterred, I vowed to use my voice and report this to the White Hat Ball. I tried Twitter the day after but no one responded (until Monday). Then, I looked on their website for an email address or contact number but to no avail. Nor was there an event code of conduct. And it's sad to say there needs to be - even for a fundraising event for abuse. ??

Anyway, this isn’t the end of this story. Rest assured. I've now spoken to the chairman of the White Hat Ball, Mark Logsdon. His team has performed an investigation and he was open to what more they could do to ensure the safety of attendees. Given the duty of care that they need to administer, I've supplied them with the IN Security Code of Conduct, suggested numerous reforms they need to make (many of which they have or are implementing) and offered them my time to help with the communications. They will not be making a statement publicly here, but both Mark and Peter Wanless, the CEO of the NSPCC, thanked me for speaking up about this.

More work is underway. What I've learnt from this unfortunate incident has spurred me on even more. Good will come of this, because by and large we have a wonderful community in cybersecurity, and you know that’s how I rock n’roll! ??

PS. I thought about not writing this story. I didn't want to detract from the good work The White Hat Ball does. But, in the end, I felt it was important I did. When abuse happens we cannot look away any longer. We must call it out. We must be professionals. We must demand higher standards. #NotOnMyWatch

About Jane Frankland

Jane Frankland is an award-winning entrepreneur, best-selling author and keynote speaker. She has been named as a top 20 global influencer in cybersecurity, a top 100 in UK Tech, and a LinkedIn Top Voices. She's spent over 22-years in cybersecurity, built and sold her own hacking firm, and directed some of the world's most well known security consultancies. Through her career and companies she's been actively involved in leading industry accreditations, schemes and forums, judging awards and advising boards. Today, she is the CEO of Cyber Security Capital and the Founder of the IN Security Movement. To work with Jane, go here https://jane-frankland.com