Why Tailgating is an Effective Hacker Tactic

Picture it – you see someone with their arms loaded down trying to get into your office building – what do  you do? 

A. Quickly rush over to open the door for them and lend a hand

B. Walk right by and enter the building

C. Ask them for their employee badge before allowing them to enter or entering yourself

 Human nature would tell you to pick A. Of course you would offer to help and hold the door for them. 

And for some B might be the answer because they are in a hurry and maybe have a suspicious nature. But, if you chose C, you could very well be your company hero since you could be the reason a hacker did not gain access to your building and ultimately your network. Sure it may be uncomfortable to question people, but I promise a security breach will be much worse. 

Raxis’ group of ethical hackers have found that this technique of tailgating by a hacker is successful time after time. Hackers know, if they spend just a little time watching the practices of a company’s employees and the general pattern of how people gain access to the building, that they have a pretty good shot at getting in as well. 

Check out the video above from Raxis’ VP of Sales Brad Herring as he explains how hackers manipulate our fundamental desire to be helpful: 

We have said it time and time again – if someone with ill intentions is able to gain access to your building, it can only take a matter of minutes for them to find an open port, put a device on the network, and gain access to your sensitive data. 

If you are ready for Raxis’ elite team of professionals to put your security to the test (did we mention we have successfully breached some of the most sophisticated corporate networks in the US?), then reach out to us through our contact page.

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