TAILGATING IN THE WORKPLACE: THE HIDDEN SECURITY THREAT COSTING ORGANIZATIONS MILLIONS

Tailgating — the practice of following an authorized person through a secured access point without presenting credentials — is the most prevalent and underestimated physical security threat in corporate environments. Unlike sophisticated cyberattacks that require technical expertise, tailgating requires nothing more than social confidence and a willingness to exploit human courtesy.

A 2024 survey by Boon Edam found that 71% of corporate employees admitted to allowing someone to tailgate through a secured door at least once, most citing social awkwardness as the reason. This human factor makes tailgating nearly impossible to eliminate through policy alone — it requires physical barriers that make tailgating mechanically impossible, not just socially discouraged.

THE REAL COST OF TAILGATING

The consequences of tailgating extend far beyond the immediate security breach. When an unauthorized person gains physical access to a corporate facility, the potential damage includes theft of physical assets, access to workstations and servers, intellectual property theft, workplace violence incidents, and regulatory compliance violations.

Verizon's 2024 Data Breach Investigations Report found that 74% of data breaches involve a physical access component. IBM's Cost of a Data Breach Report puts the average cost of a corporate data breach at $6.94 million. Even a single successful tailgating incident that leads to a data breach can cost an organization more than the entire cost of a comprehensive optical turnstile installation.

HOW OPTICAL TURNSTILES ELIMINATE TAILGATING

Optical turnstiles with 3D volumetric sensor technology are the definitive solution to tailgating. Unlike traditional card readers that simply verify a credential, optical turnstiles physically count the number of people passing through each lane and immediately alert security staff if more than one person attempts to pass per credential.

• 3D volumetric sensors detect multiple bodies in a single lane
• Immediate audio and visual alerts for tailgating attempts
• Integration with CCTV for automatic incident recording
• Real-time dashboard showing all entry events and alerts
• Audit trail of every entry attempt for compliance reporting
• Bi-directional counting for accurate occupancy management

"The moment you install optical turnstiles with tailgating detection, you eliminate the human factor from your perimeter security. The gate doesn't feel awkward saying no."

— Security Director, Major Canadian Financial Institution

Client Case Study (anonymized)

BEYOND THE LOBBY: SECURING INTERNAL ZONES

While lobby access control is the most visible application, tailgating is equally dangerous at internal security boundaries — server rooms, R&D labs, executive floors, and data centers. Optical turnstiles and security gates can be deployed at any internal access point where credential verification is required, creating layered security zones that limit the damage from any single breach.