Abstract: Apparatus to provide security for a keypad processor of a transaction terminal includes a secured processor coupled to a keypad and processor of the transaction terminal. The apparatus may operate in a secured or an unsecured mode. In a secured mode, the apparatus prevents the fraudulent acquisition of information, such as personal identification numbers (PIN), entered through the keypad. By encrypting data entered through the keypad, the apparatus prevents the fraudulent acquisition of information transmitted to a processor such as a central computer of a bank. The secured processor provides actual and false sampling of the keypad and simulates keypad data entries to prevent an electronic eavesdropper from determining the actual keypad entries.