<![CDATA[LuluOnTheCyberTrail]]>https://luluonthecybertrail.hashnode.devRSS for NodeMon, 26 Oct 2026 21:33:10 GMT60<![CDATA[Subdomains, Suffering, and the Search for the Flag]]>https://luluonthecybertrail.hashnode.dev/subdomains-suffering-and-the-search-for-the-flaghttps://luluonthecybertrail.hashnode.dev/subdomains-suffering-and-the-search-for-the-flagWed, 04 Feb 2026 13:29:23 GMTDear Diary,

Today was supposed to be a normal day. You know… wake up, maybe scroll TikTok, maybe cry a little. But no. Today, I became a cyber detective. Like, actual hacker vibes, minus the sunglasses and trench coat.

The mission: find hidden flags in some nerdy land called cyber-ed.ru. I didn’t even know what a “flag in a TXT record” was at first, but apparently it’s a thing. And apparently, it’s super important.

Step one: find subdomains. Sounds easy, right? WRONG. Sublist3r crashed on me.

VirusTotal gave me a list longer than my math homework. DNSDumpster… honestly, I think it was laughing at me.

Anyway, after much suffering, I had a list. A long, beautiful list of words like task.cyber-ed.ru, sec-infra.cyber-ed.ru, infra.cyber-ed.ru… it was like reading the guest list of some fancy tech party.

Then came the fun part: checking TXT records. I wrote a Python script because, apparently, we’re not allowed to manually check 50 subdomains like peasants. The script ran, I stared at the screen, and then it happened.

I froze. I literally froze. I think my roomy judged me for celebrating too loudly. After 3 attempts of getting wrong flags.

This. Was. It. The flag. The golden ticket. The reason I even woke up today.

I submitted it. Felt like a hero. Kind of like when Greg finally survives a weird school assembly without crying… okay, maybe not that heroic, but close.

So basically I was just learning information gathering which is an important stage in vapt .

And now I sit here, diary open, keyboard in hand, knowing that somewhere out there, other subdomains are probably plotting against me. But whatever. I am Lulu. Cyber Detective Extraordinaire.

~The End (for today, anyway)~

Precious Rutendo Charlie

]]><![CDATA[From PCAPs to RITA: A Day on My Cyber Trail]]>https://luluonthecybertrail.hashnode.dev/from-pcaps-to-rita-a-day-on-my-cyber-trailhttps://luluonthecybertrail.hashnode.dev/from-pcaps-to-rita-a-day-on-my-cyber-trailTue, 23 Dec 2025 21:18:54 GMTToday started with a TryHackMe lab Advent of Cyber, Day 22. I was diving into malware analysis with RITA, and that moment when a baby tastes ice cream for the first time… that’s exactly how I felt. Excited, amazed, and wanting more.

After finishing the lab on the platform, I got a bit hungry, but the curiosity didn’t stop there. I decided to bring the lab to my personal VM to practice hands-on.

Capturing Network Traffic with Wireshark

I fired up Wireshark to capture network traffic on my VM. Soon enough, I had a file saved as test.pcapng. That raw packet data felt like a treasure chest, the foundation of any network analysis.

Zeek Magic on Kali (via Docker)

Next challenge: converting PCAPs into structured Zeek logs. Little did I know, Kali doesn’t play nice with Zeek installations straight out of the box. After some research, I discovered I could run Zeek through Docker.

Following the guides, I managed to transform my PCAPs into Zeek logs. That moment when the command actually works pure victory! My logs were neatly organized in ~/zeek_logs, ready for analysis.

Parsing Zeek Logs into RITA (The RITA nightmare)

With Zeek logs in hand, I tried importing them into RITA using Docker. This is where things got tricky:

  • The container expected configuration files like .env

  • I kept hitting errors while trying to import logs

It was one of those moments where frustration meets learning. My brain was tired, so I decided to pause and step back, knowing fresh eyes tomorrow would solve it.

Reflections on Today

Even though I didn’t finish the RITA parsing today, I learned so much:

  • Wireshark shows you raw network traffic the heart of threat hunting.

  • Zeek converts that chaos into structured logs you can actually analyze.

  • Docker saves the day when tools don’t install easily.

  • RITA is a powerful hunting tool even if it’s intimidating at first.

    The journey today was full of excitement, small victories, and learning moments. And that’s what my cyber trail is all about.

  • Closing Thoughts

Sometimes in cybersecurity, the lesson isn’t finishing a task, but understanding the steps, tools, and processes. Today reminded me why I love this path: curiosity, exploration, and problem-solving, even when things break.

I can’t wait to continue tomorrow and finally parse those Zeek logs into RITA, that’ll be the real victory lap.

#cybergirls #blueteams #zimcyber

]]><![CDATA[The Cyber Trail Awakens: Learning Through the Eyes of a Cyber Girl]]>https://luluonthecybertrail.hashnode.dev/the-cyber-trail-awakens-learning-through-the-eyes-of-a-cyber-girlhttps://luluonthecybertrail.hashnode.dev/the-cyber-trail-awakens-learning-through-the-eyes-of-a-cyber-girlTue, 16 Dec 2025 22:13:44 GMTIntroduction

I wasn’t hunting for a discovery that day. I was just me Precious Rutendo Charlie , a curious cyber girl, exploring a platform, clicking through pages, trying to connect the dots from what I had learned in labs like TryHackMe. And then it happened. A tiny change in a URL caught my attention. Something that felt off. Something that made my heart skip a beat in that quiet, glowing room where curiosity meets instinct.

The Moment I Paused

I was just navigating the platform like a normal student. Then I noticed the login URL had a neat structure. Out of pure curiosity, I changed a tiny part nothing fancy, nothing sketchy and boom. The page I landed on looked… different.

It looked like an admin page.

No logins. No buttons clicked. Just me staring at the screen. That quiet moment where your brain whispers: “Whoa… this is interesting.”

And here’s the best part , I realized I’d seen this pattern on TryHackMe before. All those labs about URLs, roles, and access paths suddenly clicked in real life. That feeling when what you learn in labs actually makes sense in the real world? Amazing. That moment felt magical for me as someone who just begun her cyber journey. It felt like I had conquered everything.

Why This Matters

This is called Broken Access Control , it’s one of the big risks on the OWASP Top 10 list. Basically, it happens when systems don’t properly check who’s allowed to do what. Someone could maybe see or do stuff they shouldn’t.
Even though I didn’t touch anything sensitive, just seeing this behaviour is a huge learning moment. Security isn’t just about code , it’s about noticing things, thinking, and acting responsibly.

Choosing Ethics Over Curiosity

I didn’t push further.
I didn’t test credentials.
I didn’t click anything sensitive.

Instead, I documented what I saw and stepped back. Because being a cybersecurity professional isn’t just about what you can do , it’s about knowing when to stop. And making that choice is as important as technical skill.

Lessons Learned

This experience taught me:

  • Vulnerabilities often hide in plain sight

  • Applied learning is thrilling what you practice in labs can translate to real systems

  • Ethical judgment is as vital as technical skill

  • Documentation is a professional superpower

Most importantly, it reminded me why I’m walking this path in cybersecurity: curiosity, learning, and responsibility.

Closing Thoughts

This wasn’t a hack.
It wasn’t an exploit.
It was a moment of awareness , a milestone in my journey.

Moments like these shape the journey of a cybersecurity professional. They’re the sparks that light the path.

This is the cyber trail I’m walking.

References

OWASP Top 10 – A01: Broken Access Control
https://owasp.org/Top10/A01_2021-Broken_Access_Control/

#Cybersecurity #TryHackMe #WomenInTech #OWASP

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