Capterra Glossary
Tailgating, commonly referred to as piggybacking, is a common way for hackers and other unauthorized personnel to gain access to restricted company areas. Tailgating is a type of physical security break that occurs when an unauthorized person simply follows a company employee into a restricted area of a business. Companies with multiple entrance points are quite vulnerable to these types of attacks, as the more ways there are to enter a building, the more locations there are to monitor and secure. To mitigate the threat of tailgating, corporations often encourage their staff to use RFID smart cards, retina scanners, or other forms of access control devices to ensure that only authorized personnel enter restricted areas of a workplace.
Small and midsize organizations should secure access to regions of their workspace that hold sensitive company data. To do so, they often require their workforce to adhere to physical security best practices. This includes not holding the door open for people while walking into restricted areas, using biometric access control devices, and securing access points after they enter a secure premises.