Task mining is the collection and analysis of desktop activity traces, such as mouse clicks, window changes, keystrokes, copy-and-paste actions, and application switches, to understand how people actually complete work. Unlike process mining, which starts from system event logs, task mining observes the user at the workstation and captures the detailed steps hidden inside a workflow. This makes it useful when the real process depends on exceptions, shortcuts, or undocumented habits.
In cybersecurity, task mining matters because those traces can reveal sensitive behavior: where credentials are reused, which files are handled manually, and where employees move data between tools. Defenders use it to spot risky workflows, reduce shadow IT, and design automations that remove repetitive high-value actions from users. It can also support insider-threat investigations and security reviews of business processes. If the collected traces are poorly governed, however, they create privacy and data-loss risk, so access control, minimization, and retention rules are essential.