The survey achieved a response rate of approximately 8%, and respondents were primarily from North America
Over 70% of respondents believe they are currently vulnerable to a security breach from tailgating

Boon Edam Inc. recently released the results of an internal survey looking at perceptions and trends with respect to the issue of tailgating entry into buildings. The survey was conducted in late 2014.

Boon Edam Inc. asked over 3,000 contacts from its database of end users, security consultants and integrators to share their perceptions about the risk of tailgating into their facilities. The survey consisted of eight multiple choice questions with comments available for certain questions. The survey achieved a response rate of approximately 8%, and respondents were primarily from North America.

Here are some of the more interesting findings from the survey:

  • Based on media coverage over the past 10 years, a majority of respondents believe security breaches from tailgating have remained constant or are on the rise. 
  • Over 70% of respondents believe they are currently vulnerable to a security breach from tailgating.
  • More than 50% of those surveyed believe the cost of a breach caused by tailgating would be from $150,000 up to “too high to measure.”
  • Over 70% of respondents believe a barrier of some type is the most effective way to curtail tailgating, and over 60% reported they use a physical security barrier of some type as well as employee education.
  • Only 15% said they are currently tracking tailgating incidents regularly.

The majority of survey respondents appear to take tailgating and its risks very seriously and are deploying a variety of strategies to combat it, but they still consider themselves vulnerable.

“Our survey strongly suggests that the current level of security at the majority of facilities is perceived to be inadequate for stopping tailgating altogether,” commented Mark Borto, CEO for Boon Edam. “Since the majority of respondents believe the tailgating threat is real and potentially very expensive, this demonstrates a need clearly not being met. Such a situation means we’ll see investments in tailgating prevention, and/or increasing the overall level of physical security, likely figuring into future budget considerations.”

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