In this lesson,
we're going to explore a malicious type of software
known as a keylogger.
Now, in the world of cybersecurity,
keyloggers hold a special place
because of their sheer stealth,
and potential to cause large-scale damage.
Keyloggers were originally developed
by system administrators to help them
troubleshoot technical problems.
But over the past few decades,
these tools have become weaponized by cyber criminals
who want to steal your sensitive information,
like usernames and passwords,
directly from the keystrokes of their unsuspecting victims.
So, what exactly is a keylogger?
Well, a keylogger, at its core,
is a piece of software or hardware
that records every single keystroke that is made
on a computer or mobile device.
This means that every letter that is typed in,
every password that is entered,
and every web search that's being conducted
will be captured and sent back to that threat actor
without your knowledge or consent.
Keyloggers are considered to be a simple,
yet effective mechanism that cyber criminals can use
to get direct access to your personal and financial data.
This can lead to potential identity theft, financial fraud,
and even corporate espionage in some cases.
Now, keyloggers can either be software-based
or hardware-based.
When you're dealing with a software-based keylogger,
these are malicious programs that get installed
on a victim's computer,
and they're often bundled with other software
or delivered through social engineering attacks,
like phishing and pretexting attacks.
These keyloggers can also evade antivirus detection,
especially if the attacker uses
sophisticated evasion techniques.
Now, once activated,
the keylogger can operate silently in the background
and capture every keystroke, and then transmit it back
to the remote server that's controlled by a threat actor.
Now, a hardware keylogger, on the other hand,
is a physical device
that needs to be plugged into a computer.
Usually these will resemble a USB thumb drive,
or they can be embedded within the keyboard cable itself.
These are considered physical devices,
and that means they're harder to deploy on a large scale.
But they can be very effective for use
in a more targeted attack,
especially since these hardware devices are immune
to software-based detection methods,
like anti-malware scans.
When a hardware keylogger is installed on a system,
the computer actually believes it's a regular keyboard,
and the system has no idea that it's being victimized
by the hardware keylogger.
Now, keyloggers present a lot of risk
to our systems and our privacy.
From a personal standpoint,
victims can have their usernames, passwords,
credit card numbers, and other sensitive information
stolen by these keyloggers,
which can then lead to unauthorized bank transactions,
unauthorized purchases, or full-scale identity theft.
Now, from a business or corporate perspective,
the stakes can be even higher though.
Employees who have unknowingly been infected with keyloggers
could give away their logging credentials,
the contents of their confidential emails,
the company's proprietary data,
or even the company's strategic plans
without even realizing it.
These security breaches could result in financial losses,
damage to the organization's reputation,
legal repercussions,
and a loss of their competitive advantage
in the marketplace.
Now, to protect your organization from keyloggers,
you should ensure you perform regular updates
and patches on your systems.
You should rely on quality antivirus
and anti-malware solutions.
You should conduct phishing awareness training
for all your end-users.
You should implement multifactor authentication systems.
You should encrypt keystrokes being sent to your systems,
and you should perform physical checks of your desktops,
laptops, or servers to see if a hardware-based keylogger
is being used.
First, you should always regularly update
and patch your systems.
By keeping your operating systems and software updated,
Your organization can ensure
that known vulnerabilities are not being excluded
by a keylogger.
Second, you should invest
in a quality antivirus or anti-malware solution.
By using comprehensive security software,
you'll be able to detect and quarantine
any keylogging software
that may be installed on your system.
It's always important to conduct regular antivirus
and anti-malware scans to detect any keyloggers
that may have accidentally been installed
since your last scan.
Third, you should conduct phishing awareness training
for your end-users.
Keyloggers are often distributed through phishing emails,
so it's really important that you train
all of your organization's users
on how to be cautious when they're downloading attachments,
or clicking links from unknown or untrusted senders.
Fourth, you should implement multifactor authentication,
also known as MFA.
Now, if multifactor authentication has been implemented
across your enterprise network,
this means that even if a keylogger was used
to capture your password,
the threat actor will still be unable to access the system
because they require an additional verification step,
such as an authenticator app code, a one-time text message,
or your fingerprint or facial scan to recognize you.
Fifth, you should encrypt keystrokes
being sent to your systems.
Some security software can protect your system
by implementing keystroke encryption
to scramble your typed information
before sending it over to the system.
This means that if the data was captured by a keylogger,
it's going to be scrambled up in ciphertext,
and it'll become unusable to a threat actor.
Sixth, and finally, you should conduct physical checks
to see if a hardware keylogger is being used.
This is especially important
when you're operating in a sensitive environment.
You should always regularly inspect your system's hardware
for unfamiliar devices that could contain
a hardware keylogger too.
So remember, a key logger is a malicious type of software
or hardware tool that can covertly record
the keystrokes being made on a computer or mobile device.
By understanding the risks
and adopting comprehensive protection measures,
both individuals and organizations can significantly reduce
their vulnerability to these malicious tools
that attempt to destroy the confidentiality of the data
that we're typing into our systems.