Week starting: 1st June 2026
Heavy publishing week, strong community session, machines still moving.
What I worked on
Blog Posts Published:
Human Psychology Is the Exploit (Part 3): The Paradox of Security Awareness
- Series complete
- Covers why knowing about attacks doesn’t make you immune - metacognitive blindness, confidence traps, why smart people still fall for it
- Three parts, one thesis: human psychology is the exploit, AI is just the tool
Curiosity Doesn’t Age Out
- Short reflection sparked by a late-night Discord exchange with an OG in the space
- Still in the lab at midnight, years in, not because he has to be - because he’s curious
- The one that separates people who stick around from people who plateau
Engineered Scarcity: How Attackers Weaponize the Psychology of Restriction
- Loose continuation of the psychology series
- Scarcity isn’t just urgency - it changes perception before reasoning gets involved
- Four types of engineered scarcity, reactance theory, dopamine loops, where defenders get it wrong
Community Sessions:
- Hosted HTB Uganda weekly session
- Guest presenter from the HTB Kenya ambassador team
- Cross-chapter collaboration - Kenya feeding into Uganda
- Strong session, great energy from both communities
Exam Prep:
- Active Directory study ongoing
- Other exam prep running in parallel
- Intervarsity CTF prep work continuing with the CTFZone Labs team
HTB Season 11 Machines:
- 2/2 machines pawned this week
- Writeups documented immediately post-solve
- Publishing when machines retire
Key takeaways
Three blogs in one week is a lot. The psychology series wrapping, the curiosity reflection, and the scarcity piece all landed in the same week which created good publishing momentum. Each one comes from a different place - one is research-backed, one is personal, one is analysis sparked by something I was reading. That variety is intentional. The blog shouldn’t feel like one note played on repeat.
The HTB Uganda session with the Kenya ambassador was a highlight. Cross-chapter sessions bring different perspectives and the energy is always different when someone travels (even digitally) to present. That collaboration between chapters is worth building on.
2/2 on Season 11 machines is a good pace. The immediate writeup workflow is holding - documenting while the reasoning is fresh makes a genuine difference in quality. Not going to rush publishing though. They go out when they retire.
Challenges and friction
Three posts in one week meant the study time took a hit. AD and exam prep are moving but not at the pace I want. The balance between publishing and studying is a constant tension. Next week needs to lean harder on study.
Looking ahead
Week 22:
- Prioritize AD study and exam prep
- Continue Season 11 machines
- Keep HTB Uganda sessions running
- Publish writeups as machines retire
- Intervarsity CTF prep
Three blogs out, two machines pawned, one cross-chapter session. Strong week on output.