Tailgating is best described as?

• A. Following a coworker through a door using your own badge reader.
• B. Waiting for a security guard to open the door.
• C. Using a master key to bypass doors.
• D. Following a coworker through a door without using your own badge reader.

Answer: (D)

Tailgating in physical security means someone who isn’t authorized or doesn’t have badge access slips in behind an authorized person by closely following and not presenting their own credential. The option describing following a coworker through a door without using your own badge reader best captures that behavior, where the access point is bypassed by piggybacking on another person’s credential. It’s a security risk because it allows an unverified person to pass through a controlled doorway. The other scenarios depict legitimate entry (using your own badge), waiting for someone to open the door, or bypassing doors with a master key, none of which describe the social-intrusion element of tailgating.