In
security
Security is protection from, or resilience against, potential harm (or other unwanted coercion). Beneficiaries (technically referents) of security may be persons and social groups, objects and institutions, ecosystems, or any other entity or ...
, piggybacking, similar to tailgating, refers to when a person tags along with another person who is authorized to gain entry into a restricted area, or pass a certain
checkpoint.
It can be either electronic or physical.
The act may be legal or illegal, authorized or unauthorized, depending on the circumstances. However, the term more often has the connotation of being an illegal or unauthorized act.
To describe the act of an unauthorized person who follows someone to a restricted area ''without'' the consent of the authorized person, the term tailgating is also used. "Tailgating" implies no consent (similar to a car
tailgating
Tailgating is the action of a driver driving behind another vehicle while not leaving sufficient distance to stop without causing a collision if the vehicle in front stops suddenly.
The safe distance for following another vehicle varies depend ...
another vehicle on a road), while "piggybacking" usually implies consent of the authorized person, similar to a person giving another person a
piggyback
Piggyback, piggy-back, or piggybacking may mean:
Transport
* Piggyback (transportation), something that is riding on the back of something else
Art, entertainment, and media
* Splash cymbal piggybacking, mounting a cymbal on top of an already ...
on their shoulders.
Piggybacking came to the public's attention particularly in 1999, when a series of weaknesses were exposed in
airport security
Airport security includes the techniques and methods used in an attempt to protect passengers, staff, aircraft, and airport property from malicious harm, crime, terrorism, and other threats.
Aviation security is a combination of measures and hum ...
. A study showed that the majority of undercover agents attempting to pass through checkpoints, bring banned items on planes, or board planes without tickets were successful. Piggybacking was revealed as one of the methods that were used in order to enter off-limits areas.
Methods
Electronic
* A user fails to properly log off their computer, allowing an unauthorized user to "piggyback" on the authorized user's session.
* Using authorized shared or common log in
credentials
A credential is a piece of any document that details a qualification, competence, or authority issued to an individual by a third party with a relevant or '' de facto'' authority or assumed competence to do so.
Examples of credentials include ac ...
to gain access to systems
Physical
Piggybackers have various methods of breaching security. These may include:
*Surreptitiously following an individual authorized to enter a location, giving the appearance of being legitimately escorted
*Joining a large crowd authorized to enter, and pretending to be a member of the crowd that is largely unchecked
*Finding an authorized person who either disregards the
law
Law is a set of rules that are created and are enforceable by social or governmental institutions to regulate behavior, with its precise definition a matter of longstanding debate. It has been variously described as a science and as the ar ...
or the rules of the facility, or is tricked into believing the piggybacker is authorized, and agreeably allows the piggybacked to tag along
*Donning counterfeit
identification badges or cards to seamlessly integrate into the environment
*Gaining access through alternative entrances like rear or side doors, such as those found in parking lots
Piggybacking can be regarded as one of the simpler forms of
social engineering.
Piggyback prevention
Some of the devices employed into a security design - to prevent tailgating or piggybacking - may include:
*Security revolving doors, mantrap portals, security entrance control
turnstiles or
speedgates.
*Doorway tailgate detection sensor systems linked with sophisticated logic or software. Some systems are linear infrared beam systems and others may be TOF (time of flight), stereovision, or Lidar with AI enhancements.
*Overhead detection is believed to be more accurate than linear beam systems due to the viewpoint which cannot be foiled so easily by side-by-side persons.
See also
*
Gate crashing
References
Definition
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