Tailgating attack: the easiest way for someone to bypass security checks!
Unauthorized individuals exploiting moments of human courtesy to gain physical access to secure areas can lead to severe consequences, from data breaches to physical theft.
Preventing tailgating starts with a combination of awareness, technology, and policy.
In this blog, we explain what tailgating is, provide examples to help you stay more vigilant in the future, and share proven prevention tips for 2025 to protect against tailgating!
What is a tailgating attack?
A tailgating attack is deceptively simple—an unauthorized person gains access to a secure facility by closely following someone who has legitimate access. It’s a breach of physical security that bypasses systems designed to keep intruders out, exploiting human trust or politeness.
But tailgating attackers aren’t always outsiders. Sometimes, they can even be insiders—people who are authorized to be in the building but not necessarily in the restricted zones they’re entering. This adds another layer of complexity to the threat: the danger might come from within.
At its core, tailgating is a form of security compromise where an attacker exploits human behavior, relying on someone’s courtesy to sneak past access control measures. It’s about leveraging the human element—not the technology.
Tailgating doesn’t always happen with a clear, malicious intent. The person holding the door might not even realize they’re letting someone in who shouldn’t be there. Whether it’s a lapse in attention or a simple act of kindness, tailgating thrives on human error.
How tailgating differs from other security breaches?
Tailgating attacks exploit social engineering techniques and human behavior, whereas other security breaches often rely more on technical exploitation or hacking.
- Method of attack:
Tailgating involves an individual gaining unauthorized access by following someone with legitimate access through a secured entry point, often without detection. The focus is on exploiting human behavior rather than hacking technology.
- Target:
Primarily targets physical security systems, like doors, gates, or entry points within secured buildings or facilities.
- Technology involvement:
Typically bypasses technological defenses, such as card readers or biometric scanners, by relying on human actions. It exploits the physical vulnerability of trusting employees to allow entry.
- Detection:
Can be difficult to detect, as it often relies on a person’s willingness to hold the door or allow another individual to pass through without verifying their credentials.
- Impact:
While it can lead to physical security breaches, such as unauthorized access to sensitive areas or theft, it generally does not involve the compromise of systems or data directly.
Common examples where tailgating occurs:
Tailgating attacks can happen in various environments, often taking advantage of human trust and convenience. Here are some common scenarios where tailgating occurs:
- Office buildings and workplaces:
An unauthorized person follows an employee into a secure building or restricted area, often by simply walking closely behind them and entering before the door closes. The attacker may appear to be a colleague or visitor, relying on the employee’s reluctance to question them.
- Employee parking lots:
In some cases, an individual may tailgate an employee as they use an access card or gate code to enter a secured parking facility. The individual may be waiting nearby, walking in closely behind a car or person to gain entry to restricted areas.
- Elevator access:
Tailgating can also occur at elevator access points. If a building requires access cards for elevator use, attackers may follow employees who swipe their cards and enter the elevator without proper authorization. Elevator surveillance systems can help monitor and prevent unauthorized access.
- Visitor sign-in areas:
Visitors may attempt to tailgate employees when entering a building, particularly if there’s no receptionist or strict visitor protocol in place. By blending in with a legitimate visitor group, an attacker can easily slip past security unnoticed.
- Restricted areas within offices:
Within office spaces, individuals might attempt to follow an authorized employee into highly secured areas like server rooms, data storage facilities, or restricted floors. Employees might hold doors open or fail to notice when someone follows them into these high-security zones, posing a risk to commercial building security. Implementing strict access control measures, surveillance systems, and employee awareness training can help mitigate these security threats.
- Construction sites:
On construction sites or other industrial areas, construction site security is challenged as unauthorized individuals may blend in by wearing similar attire or carrying equipment. They follow employees into restricted areas where they are not authorized to be, often targeting high-value materials or machinery.
- Corporate events and conferences:
At large corporate events or conferences, individuals can gain access to restricted areas by tailgating behind legitimate attendees. These events often have access control points (like badges or wristbands), which the attacker bypasses by walking in closely behind an authorized person.
The risks and consequences of tailgating attack
People tailgate for a variety of reasons, often exploiting human behavior and social norms to bypass security measures. Here’s why it happens and the risks it poses:
- Data theft and espionage risks:
Once inside a secured facility, a tailgater can steal sensitive data, gather intelligence, or access confidential information. These actions could lead to data breaches, intellectual property theft, or corporate espionage, causing significant damage to a company’s security.
- Potential physical security threats:
Tailgating isn’t just about accessing digital information. It also opens the door to physical threats—like theft, vandalism, or even physical harm to employees and visitors. With unauthorized access, a tailgater can exploit weak points in physical security to commit crimes undetected.
- Reputational and financial damage:
If a company falls victim to a tailgating attack, the fallout can include reputational damage. Clients and partners may lose trust, leading to financial losses, lawsuits, or damage to brand integrity. Prevention of these attacks is crucial to maintaining both security and public confidence.
Reasons your business faces tailgating:
If your business has security issues, it’s likely because you’re making basic mistakes that make tailgating easy.
Most employees don’t understand security protocols because they’ve never been trained. Without that knowledge, they’ll hold doors open for anyone just to be polite.
Even if you have access control systems, they’re worthless if people ignore them and let others in out of convenience. Surveillance isn’t helping either if your cameras aren’t in the right places or nobody’s monitoring them.
Relying on outdated authentication methods like keycards or PINs is asking for trouble. If one swipe lets a group through, you’ve already lost. Poorly designed entryways make it worse. Wide doors or poorly monitored access points are an open invitation for tailgaters.
Visitor management is another weak link. If you don’t track or monitor guests, they’ll just follow employees into your building. The problem gets worse when your team is overly polite. Being courteous and holding doors open feels harmless, but it’s a massive security gap.
Failing to update your security systems is another issue. If your protocols haven’t changed in years, they’re probably outdated and ineffective against modern threats.
Add to that a lack of security personnel, and you’re practically inviting problems. One stationary guard at the front isn’t enough to stop tailgaters in other areas.
How can you prevent tailgating attacks in 2025?
- Advanced door access control systems (biometrics, RFID, etc.):
Tailgating happens fast and far too easily when someone unintentionally or deliberately enters a secured area by following an authorized person.
To stop this, you must implement advanced access control systems like biometrics, RFID, or multi-factor authentication.
These systems ensure only authorized individuals gain entry by using technologies that verify identity with precision and track every access attempt in real-time.
These systems ensure external visitors can’t tailgate their way into restricted areas—whether it’s a delivery person or someone posing as an employee. But it doesn’t stop there. They also prevent internal employees from accessing areas they’re not authorized for, like sensitive data centers, labs, or executive offices.
Every entry is tracked, every attempt logged, and every potential breach stopped before it even starts.
- Anti-tailgating barriers and turnstiles:
Barriers and turnstiles create a clear checkpoint for entry, reinforcing the importance of access control. Whether it’s at the main entrance, sensitive workspaces, or high-security zones, you can stop breaches before they happen.
It’s not just about keeping people out—it’s about creating a secure environment where you know exactly who’s in and where they are.
Turnstiles equipped with RFID or biometric scanners add a double barrier. An employee scans their badge or fingerprint, and the system confirms their identity before allowing the turnstile to move. If someone tries to slip in behind them, the barrier locks or triggers an alert.
- Security cameras and surveillance:
AI-powered video surveillance technology detects tailgating in real time. The system monitors the behavior of individuals as they enter and exit, automatically identifying suspicious patterns, such as multiple people entering after a single access card swipe, and instantly alerting security staff.
- Placement of no tailgating signs:
One of the simplest yet most effective ways to reinforce security and stop tailgating is through strategically placed “No Tailgating” signs. Why? Because they set clear expectations and act as a constant reminder for everyone entering a secured area.
Placing these signs at key points—like entrances with turnstiles, near biometric scanners, or along hallways leading to restricted zones—makes employees and visitors more aware of their responsibilities.
A well-placed sign saying, “No tailgating: Every person must swipe or scan” not only educates but also deters anyone from trying to sneak in behind someone else.
These signs also help create a culture of accountability. Employees are more likely to stop and question someone tailgating if the rule is visibly reinforced. Pairing signs with instructions or consequences for violating the policy further strengthens compliance.
Tailgating detection wearables:
Equip employees with smart badges or wearable devices that communicate with entry points. If someone without the appropriate device follows an authorized employee into a restricted area, the system could trigger a silent alarm or deactivate the door mechanism temporarily to prevent unauthorized access.
Two-step entry points:
Introduce a two-step entry process where an initial swipe opens one barrier (e.g., an outer door), but a second access point is required to enter further areas. This can be a secondary gate or a turnstile, which makes it harder for someone to sneak in right behind an authorized person.
Remote video monitoring
Remote video monitoring, enhanced with advanced video analytics like Tailgating Detection AI, offers a smart and proactive solution to instantly detect tailgating incidents. This technology can identify unauthorized entries as they occur, whether it involves a person following another through a secured entry point or a vehicle attempting to slip through behind an authorized vehicle.
Remote video monitoring offers the ability to monitor every access point in real-time, no matter where you are. It’s not just about watching security footage; it’s about intelligently analyzing live video feeds to spot suspicious behavior instantly.
When the AI security camera spots an unauthorized person tailgating behind someone with access clearance, it automatically sends alerts to live video monitoring centers. The remote operators promptly respond, enabling immediate intervention.
This technology goes beyond just monitoring—it learns and adapts to your environment. Over time, it can identify patterns in human behavior and predict potential security threats. So instead of waiting for a security guard to notice something, the system can flag violations automatically and help prevent breaches before they happen.
What’s even better is that remote video monitoring means security teams don’t need to be physically on-site to detect tailgating. They can access the feeds from anywhere, making it easier to keep an eye on multiple locations simultaneously.
This system doesn’t just add another layer of security—it elevates the whole security strategy, combining real-time human oversight with the power of machine intelligence to stop tailgating and other potential threats instantly.
Conclusion:
Tailgating is a growing security threat that exploits human behavior, often bypassing even the most advanced technology.
By understanding its risks and implementing comprehensive prevention strategies—such as advanced access controls, anti-tailgating barriers, real-time AI surveillance, and employee training—you can significantly reduce the likelihood of a successful attack.
Tailgating detection systems and remote monitoring add an extra layer of protection, allowing for faster detection and response.
Contact us today for a consultation and discover tailored solutions to keep your business safe.
