{"id":26306,"date":"2022-04-19T15:09:00","date_gmt":"2022-04-19T13:09:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/perseus.de\/backdoor\/"},"modified":"2026-03-27T16:23:47","modified_gmt":"2026-03-27T15:23:47","slug":"backdoor","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/perseus.de\/en\/backdoor\/","title":{"rendered":"Backdoor"},"content":{"rendered":"\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t

Backdoor<\/h1>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\"\"\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t

The term translates as \u2018backdoor\u2019 and refers to an alternative means of accessing software or a computer. A backdoor may be built into a programme by a legitimate software manufacturer, for example to allow access to the programme on behalf of the customer in the event of a forgotten password. As malware, a backdoor allows cybercriminals to access a computer or network. They can thereby control a computer, lock it, encrypt its data, manipulate inputs or spy on it. A backdoor program often enters the system via a Trojan horse. <\/p>

<\/h4>

What exactly does the term \u2018backdoor\u2019 mean?<\/h4>
<\/div>
  • Even if a backdoor in legitimate software has practical uses, it still poses a security risk.
    A backdoor program can be installed alongside a Trojan horse or disguise itself as a Trojan horse. Therefore, security measures designed to prevent Trojan horses are also effective against backdoor programs. <\/li>
  • If a Trojan horse has installed a backdoor programme, the latter remains active even if the Trojan horse is detected and removed.<\/li>
  • Even for experienced programmers, finding a backdoor in a piece of software\u2019s source code can be difficult. In line with the principle that many eyes make a good pair, open-source software is considered more secure in this respect (though not completely secure!), as it is scrutinised by many programmers. <\/li>
  • <\/li><\/ul>

    Where do I come across backdoors in my day-to-day work?<\/h4>
    <\/div>

    By opening a malicious email attachment, you may unwittingly install a backdoor program on your computer. This may initially go unnoticed, for example if the program is designed to spy on data and password entries. Or if it sets up a backdoor for a blackmail attack that takes place at a later date. <\/p>

    <\/h4>

    What can I do to improve my security?<\/h4>
    <\/div>
    • Many measures designed to improve cybersecurity also help to prevent the installation of backdoor programmes. These include:
      Using an antivirus programme that is kept up to date <\/li>
    • Only install software and updates from verified sources; if necessary, visit the manufacturer\u2019s website manually<\/li>
    • Exercise extreme caution when dealing with emails, particularly with regard to links and attachments contained therein<\/li>
    • Use a firewall to prevent access to any backdoor that may exist.<\/li><\/ul><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/header>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t
      \n\t\t\t\t\t
      \n\t\t\t\t
      \n\t\t\t\t
      \n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t
      \n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/span>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

      Backdoor The term translates as \u2018backdoor\u2019 and refers to an alternative means of accessing software or a computer. A backdoor may be built into a programme by a legitimate software manufacturer, for example to allow access to the programme on behalf of the customer in the event of a forgotten password. As malware, a backdoor […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[57],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-26306","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-cyber-glossary"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nBackdoor - Perseus Technologies<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/perseus.de\/en\/backdoor\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Backdoor - Perseus Technologies\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Backdoor The term translates as \u2018backdoor\u2019 and refers to an alternative means of accessing software or a computer. A backdoor may be built into a programme by a legitimate software manufacturer, for example to allow access to the programme on behalf of the customer in the event of a forgotten password. As malware, a backdoor […]\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/perseus.de\/en\/backdoor\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Perseus Technologies\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2022-04-19T13:09:00+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2026-03-27T15:23:47+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/perseus.de\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/Headerbild-Glossary-Page.png\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"800\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"800\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/png\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Xenia Silbe\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Xenia Silbe\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"2 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/perseus.de\\\/en\\\/backdoor\\\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/perseus.de\\\/en\\\/backdoor\\\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Xenia Silbe\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/perseus.de\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/42cdb0ff9720a4c92a2613f686b32f46\"},\"headline\":\"Backdoor\",\"datePublished\":\"2022-04-19T13:09:00+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2026-03-27T15:23:47+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/perseus.de\\\/en\\\/backdoor\\\/\"},\"wordCount\":360,\"commentCount\":0,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/perseus.de\\\/#organization\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/perseus.de\\\/en\\\/backdoor\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/perseus.de\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2025\\\/05\\\/Headerbild-Glossary-Page-300x300.png\",\"articleSection\":[\"Cyber Glossary\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/perseus.de\\\/en\\\/backdoor\\\/#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/perseus.de\\\/en\\\/backdoor\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/perseus.de\\\/en\\\/backdoor\\\/\",\"name\":\"Backdoor - Perseus Technologies\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/perseus.de\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/perseus.de\\\/en\\\/backdoor\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/perseus.de\\\/en\\\/backdoor\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/perseus.de\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2025\\\/05\\\/Headerbild-Glossary-Page-300x300.png\",\"datePublished\":\"2022-04-19T13:09:00+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2026-03-27T15:23:47+00:00\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/perseus.de\\\/en\\\/backdoor\\\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/perseus.de\\\/en\\\/backdoor\\\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/perseus.de\\\/en\\\/backdoor\\\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/perseus.de\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2025\\\/05\\\/Headerbild-Glossary-Page-300x300.png\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/perseus.de\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2025\\\/05\\\/Headerbild-Glossary-Page-300x300.png\"},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/perseus.de\\\/en\\\/backdoor\\\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/perseus.de\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Backdoor\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/perseus.de\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/perseus.de\\\/\",\"name\":\"perseus-web.de\",\"description\":\"\",\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/perseus.de\\\/#organization\"},\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/perseus.de\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Organization\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/perseus.de\\\/#organization\",\"name\":\"perseus-web.de\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/perseus.de\\\/\",\"logo\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/perseus.de\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/logo\\\/image\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/perseus.de\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2025\\\/03\\\/PerseusTechnologie_Color-2.png\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/perseus.de\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2025\\\/03\\\/PerseusTechnologie_Color-2.png\",\"width\":536,\"height\":172,\"caption\":\"perseus-web.de\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/perseus.de\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/logo\\\/image\\\/\"}},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/perseus.de\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/42cdb0ff9720a4c92a2613f686b32f46\",\"name\":\"Xenia Silbe\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/ad1725c4df9d407f031b1429111650ed671361b6db97d9353d2b0d1aea2f67ed?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/ad1725c4df9d407f031b1429111650ed671361b6db97d9353d2b0d1aea2f67ed?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/ad1725c4df9d407f031b1429111650ed671361b6db97d9353d2b0d1aea2f67ed?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Xenia Silbe\"},\"sameAs\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/perseus.de\\\/\"],\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/perseus.de\\\/en\\\/author\\\/xenia-silbe\\\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Backdoor - Perseus Technologies","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/perseus.de\/en\/backdoor\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Backdoor - Perseus Technologies","og_description":"Backdoor The term translates as \u2018backdoor\u2019 and refers to an alternative means of accessing software or a computer. A backdoor may be built into a programme by a legitimate software manufacturer, for example to allow access to the programme on behalf of the customer in the event of a forgotten password. As malware, a backdoor […]","og_url":"https:\/\/perseus.de\/en\/backdoor\/","og_site_name":"Perseus Technologies","article_published_time":"2022-04-19T13:09:00+00:00","article_modified_time":"2026-03-27T15:23:47+00:00","og_image":[{"width":800,"height":800,"url":"https:\/\/perseus.de\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/Headerbild-Glossary-Page.png","type":"image\/png"}],"author":"Xenia Silbe","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Xenia Silbe","Est. reading time":"2 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/perseus.de\/en\/backdoor\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/perseus.de\/en\/backdoor\/"},"author":{"name":"Xenia Silbe","@id":"https:\/\/perseus.de\/#\/schema\/person\/42cdb0ff9720a4c92a2613f686b32f46"},"headline":"Backdoor","datePublished":"2022-04-19T13:09:00+00:00","dateModified":"2026-03-27T15:23:47+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/perseus.de\/en\/backdoor\/"},"wordCount":360,"commentCount":0,"publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/perseus.de\/#organization"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/perseus.de\/en\/backdoor\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/perseus.de\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/Headerbild-Glossary-Page-300x300.png","articleSection":["Cyber Glossary"],"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/perseus.de\/en\/backdoor\/#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/perseus.de\/en\/backdoor\/","url":"https:\/\/perseus.de\/en\/backdoor\/","name":"Backdoor - Perseus Technologies","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/perseus.de\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/perseus.de\/en\/backdoor\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/perseus.de\/en\/backdoor\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/perseus.de\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/Headerbild-Glossary-Page-300x300.png","datePublished":"2022-04-19T13:09:00+00:00","dateModified":"2026-03-27T15:23:47+00:00","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/perseus.de\/en\/backdoor\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/perseus.de\/en\/backdoor\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/perseus.de\/en\/backdoor\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/perseus.de\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/Headerbild-Glossary-Page-300x300.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/perseus.de\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/Headerbild-Glossary-Page-300x300.png"},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/perseus.de\/en\/backdoor\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/perseus.de\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Backdoor"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/perseus.de\/#website","url":"https:\/\/perseus.de\/","name":"perseus-web.de","description":"","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/perseus.de\/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/perseus.de\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/perseus.de\/#organization","name":"perseus-web.de","url":"https:\/\/perseus.de\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/perseus.de\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/perseus.de\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/PerseusTechnologie_Color-2.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/perseus.de\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/PerseusTechnologie_Color-2.png","width":536,"height":172,"caption":"perseus-web.de"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/perseus.de\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"}},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/perseus.de\/#\/schema\/person\/42cdb0ff9720a4c92a2613f686b32f46","name":"Xenia Silbe","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/ad1725c4df9d407f031b1429111650ed671361b6db97d9353d2b0d1aea2f67ed?s=96&d=mm&r=g","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/ad1725c4df9d407f031b1429111650ed671361b6db97d9353d2b0d1aea2f67ed?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/ad1725c4df9d407f031b1429111650ed671361b6db97d9353d2b0d1aea2f67ed?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"Xenia Silbe"},"sameAs":["https:\/\/perseus.de\/"],"url":"https:\/\/perseus.de\/en\/author\/xenia-silbe\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/perseus.de\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/26306","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/perseus.de\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/perseus.de\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/perseus.de\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/perseus.de\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=26306"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/perseus.de\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/26306\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":26307,"href":"https:\/\/perseus.de\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/26306\/revisions\/26307"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/perseus.de\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=26306"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/perseus.de\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=26306"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/perseus.de\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=26306"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}