The Crime Before the Crime

New national survey finds most Americans can't name "tailgating," the security failure behind this summer's breaches at Harvard, UCLA and 30 Rockefeller Center

CUPERTINO, Calif., Aug. 26, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- The first independent U.S. study on tailgating awareness, released today, finds that 58% of Americans have never heard the term "tailgating" used to describe an unauthorized person following someone else through a locked door. The gap in security awareness is striking given how common the experience is: 45% of Americans say they have personally experienced or witnessed someone entering a secured space without using their own credentials, according to the study. 

"Tailgating is the crime that occurs before a more serious crime. It is every security director's nightmare. This summer, Harvard, UCLA, and the NBC News staff at the TODAY show experienced the devastating impact tailgaters can have. Thankfully, the victim at Harvard fought off her attacker, but the young women at UCLA have had their lives changed forever," said Tina D'Agostin, CEO of Alcatraz AI and a leading expert in physical security technology.

The survey lands after three tailgating incidents at three iconic institutions. In May, an intruder followed students through a secured entrance into UCLA dormitories, where he is accused of sexually assaulting four undergraduates in their dorm rooms. The same week, an intruder followed an undergrad through a gate and a badge-secured door at Harvard's Lowell House and allegedly attempted to force his way into her room. In July, a man slipped behind an employee's badge swipe into a restricted area of 30 Rockefeller Center and confronted NBC News TODAY show anchor Craig Melvin with a racial slur before being detained by security.

"Three national incidents. Three buildings with the same 30-year-old security technology: a badge reader. That badge reader is completely unintelligent. Can you imagine listening to music on a boom box or CD? That's how old badge technology is. Firing security personnel is not the answer, because we haven't given security directors the technology to do their jobs," D'Agostin said.

In each case, the access-control system worked exactly as designed: when the card was swiped, the door unlocked. It had no way to register that a second, unauthorized person had walked through the same door behind it.

What the three men had in common wasn't just how they got in. It's what they did once they were inside. Court records describe the UCLA intruder carrying zip ties, duct tape and rope; the Harvard suspect had attempted to assault another woman earlier in the evening; the 30 Rock intruder had a prior felony conviction and multiple other pending cases. Tailgating is the crime before the crime: it is the opportunity a bad actors exploit every day because most buildings use a 30 year old technology: the badge reader.

Key findings

• 58% of Americans had not heard the term "tailgating" used this way before being asked, despite the fact that nearly half have lived through it themselves.
• 45% of Americans have personally experienced or witnessed someone entering a secured building without using their own badge, key or code.
• 88% call it a serious security risk once it's explained to them (51% "very serious," 37% "somewhat serious"): awareness is low, but concern is not.
• Just 26% of parents of school-age or college-age children and current students are aware that this kind of unauthorized entry has been linked to assaults in dormitories, yet 76% say they would be more concerned for their child's safety if they knew a badge system could be bypassed this way, including 51% who say they'd be "significantly more concerned."

"Based on the data, awareness increases concern, but to think awareness alone is going to change behavior is naive. Different security measures are needed to address this risk," said Melissa Moore, PhD, a social and behavioral scientist at YouGov.

Americans say one thing and do another at the door

A majority, 53%, say they would not hold a secured door open for someone they don't know. But 37% say someone has already followed them through a secured door at least once, and when asked directly how they'd react if a stranger expected them to hold the door, 25% admit they'd likely let it happen anyway. Nearly a quarter say they're not confident they would even recognize tailgating happening in front of them.

"Bad actors rely on the fact that people have been taught to be polite. It's socially awkward and considered rude to slam a door or deny entry to a stranger. It shouldn't be up to an 18-year-old student to police who does and doesn't get into the building. It's time to harness AI and make doors intelligent. We now have non-surveillance-based technology that can make doors intelligent.," said D'Agostin, who led physical security at Chase Center and Salesforce Tower while at Johnson Controls. JCI a $23.6 Billion dollar company is the global leader in building security technology.

Unlike other surveillance-based security systems, Alcatraz AI's patented facial authentication technology protects employee privacy by anonymizing every face it recognizes. Employees move from space to space using their face as a verified credential. No photographs, no personal information, ever.

"In the case of facial authentication, we know who belongs. Therefore we know who doesn't. We can send alerts to the security team in real time so they can address it while it's actually occurring in real time. This empowers security teams to address bad actors on the spot. People deserve better," D'Agostin said.

Known as the Face ID of physical spaces, Alcatraz AI is the de facto standard for data center security among the world's leading tech companies because of its tailgating detection capabilities. Alcatraz AI has emerged as a category leader where security standards are highest and certifications hardest to obtain: hyperscale data centers, financial institutions, airports, and nuclear and energy infrastructure.

About Alcatraz AI

Alcatraz is an AI-powered physical access control company headquartered in Cupertino, California. Its flagship product, the Rock™, replaces badge-based and legacy biometric security with fully anonymized facial authentication and real-time tailgating detection.

Alcatraz AI is trusted where security standards are highest and certifications hardest to earn: hyperscale data centers, financial institutions, airports, and nuclear and energy infrastructure. Its technology protects professional sports teams from the NBA to the NFL, Fortune 100 companies, universities, stadiums, and private individuals.

Privacy First. Last. Always.

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SOURCE Alcatraz