Glossary

Keylogger

A keylogger is like having someone look over your shoulder and write down everything you type. Every password, every message, every credit card number. It can be a program hiding on your computer or even a physical device plugged into your keyboard.

What is Keylogger?

Software or hardware that records every keystroke made on a computer, capturing passwords, messages, and other sensitive information typed by the user.

Why Should You Care?

Keyloggers are a direct attack vector for credential theft and fraud—once an attacker captures login credentials, they can access email, banking, cloud infrastructure, and internal systems without needing to crack encryption. For businesses, a single compromised employee workstation with a keylogger installed means attackers can harvest admin passwords, API keys, and proprietary data being typed in real time. This makes keylogger detection and endpoint monitoring a critical control for any organization handling sensitive data or maintaining privileged access.

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Real-World Example

Physical USB keyloggers are sold openly online as small "USB pass-through" devices that fit between a keyboard and a computer port, silently recording every keystroke to onboard memory without leaving software traces. An attacker with brief physical access can install one on an unattended workstation, then return later to retrieve the device and extract captured credentials and confidential information—an attack that conventional antivirus would never detect.

How to Protect Against Keylogger

  1. 1.

    Use a password manager to avoid typing passwords

  2. 2.

    Enable two-factor authentication everywhere

  3. 3.

    Run regular antivirus scans

Related Terms

Infostealer, Trojan, Malware

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