This week’s Cybersecurity Field Notes covers what I’ve been learning, experimenting with, and paying attention to in the security community. Alongside my personal notes, I’ve included a short summary of notable cybersecurity events and takeaways from the past week.

What I'm learning

I have been immersed in learning about Microsoft products this past week. As unexpected as this topic was, it was a welcome break from my binge of the Dungeon Crawler Carl book series.

This year, I've chosen to make the most of what I already have. Naturally, this includes the platform subscriptions and exam attempts I've collected over time.

Platform: HackTheBox Academy

I've been spending an hour or two every day working through the "Junior Cybersecurity Analyst" track on HackTheBox Academy. Revisiting fundamental concepts has been a welcome refresher on the building blocks that are stacked sky-high to develop exploits.

I completed the Windows Fundamentals course and wrote a write-up about it. The module was robust and provided a great introduction to the Windows OS and Windows Administration. I would have liked a stronger focus on Defending Windows, but I'm sure there's already a course for that.

Unexpected Topic: Cloud

I spend a lot of time reviewing logs. This week, I came across an Azure log and thought, "What the f*ck is that?" So, like a good security researcher, I dropped everything and dove headfirst into Azure. I ended up on Microsoft's Learning platform. It's free and robust. I'm neck-deep in Microsoft's "Introduction to Cloud Infrastructure" series.

At the end of it, I'll either sit for the Azure Fundamentals exam or keep the knowledge in my back pocket. Any threat landscape is worth understanding.

What is happening to the world

AKA the stories I'm following

Millions Affected: WhisperPair Vulnerability

Google Fast Pair enables one-tap pairing across supported Bluetooth devices. A set of newly published vulnerabilities, known as WhisperPair, can be used to undetectably hijack vulnerable audio devices. Attackers can listen to the victim's surroundings, disrupt audio streams, and, in some cases, track the device's location. Both iPhones and Android devices are affected.

The vulnerabilities were reported to Google in August 2025. Google has alerted some vendors. To combat WhisperPair, Google recommends keeping audio devices well-patched. In most cases, this involves installing the device provider's app and checking for an update.

Google has not seen exploitation of the vulnerability outside of a lab setting.

• WhisperPair demonstration: link
• You can check if your device is vulnerable here

Grok is still being gross

It's no surprise that Elon Musk's chatbot has had some hiccups. Who can forget when Grok called itself "MechaHitler"? Recently, Grok has been used to generate disturbing, sexually explicit content of real people, some of whom appear to be minors. X has placed new restrictions on Grok to prevent people from editing and/or generating "undressing" photos.

But here's what actually happened – Grok's image generation on X was restricted. Grok, via Grok.com, can still be used to create nonconsensual intimate imagery if you pay for a subscription. Once again, we are seeing the profit > people model prevail. Is this "the monetization of abuse," as Emma Pickering of Refuge put it, the gross negligence of unregulated technology, or both?

Telegram IP exposure

Telegram has alerted users to a new tactic being used to expose their IP addresses: clicking on a link disguised as a username. When the victim clicks the "username", they are connected to a proxy that exposes their IP address. This vulnerability is not limited to Telegram.

• Vulnerability demonstration: Link

That's it for this edition of Cybersecurity Field Notes. If you enjoyed the article, please consider subscribing to my mailing list. I post write-ups, security analyses, and whatever I find interesting.