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Don’t be polite when it comes to security

One World Trade Center in New York City, has a security system that cost $20 million to purchase and install in 2008.

Nonetheless, in 2016 a New Jersey teenager managed to get in and roam about for two hours.  Everyone knows the security dangers in that scenario.

Maintaining secure areas is a problem because people are so nice. They let their colleagues into the building, even when they are not sure they know the person.

The most common causes of unauthorized entry into a building are piggybacking or tailgating.

Tailgating and piggybacking

Tailgating occurs when one person properly enters a secure door but another follows, unbeknownst to the first person.

Piggybacking is different because the piggybacker gets permission. The piggybacker actually asks for access (Hey! Hold the door!). Sometimes, people just hold the door for the person coming behind them.

The habit of courtesy

Holding the door for someone is a deeply ingrained habit. If that person is carrying something large, like computer equipment, it is virtually seen as a requirement to hold the door.  But that is a typical ruse.

“If you ever  used your access card to get into a building, then held the door open so someone who looked like he might work there can enter, you have participated in a security breach,” says Mark Borto, CEO of Boon Edam, the leading manufacturer of security entrance solutions in North America. Quoted in Bloomberg Businessweek, Borto also says, “The best access control systems in the world can be defeated by exploiting the fact that people are nice and will allow others to follow them through doors.”

Simple courtesy seems benign but it puts everyone at risk.