220-1102 Security Practice Question
A security auditor discovers that an unauthorized individual gained access to a secure area by tailgating through a mantrap that requires two-factor authentication. The individual entered by closely following an authorized employee who scanned their badge and entered a PIN. Which additional security control would most effectively prevent this attack?
⚠ Common exam trap
Candidates often confuse detective controls like CCTV with preventive controls, or assume that stronger authentication (RFID) alone stops tailgating, when the real vulnerability is the lack of physical per-entry enforcement.
Answer choices
Why each option matters
Answer the question above first, then reveal the full breakdown to understand why each option is right or wrong.
Correct answer & explanation
✓
Turnstiles with anti-passback
Turnstiles with anti-passback enforce one-person-per-entry by requiring each individual to authenticate independently and preventing the same credential from being reused to allow multiple entries. This directly blocks tailgating by ensuring that after an authorized employee enters, the turnstile locks until the next valid authentication, eliminating the ability to follow closely behind.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✗
Security guards
Why it's wrong here
Security guards are a reactive deterrent, not a technical enforcement mechanism. Guards can be socially engineered, distracted, or overburdened during peak traffic, allowing a tailgater to slip through unnoticed. While guards can challenge intruders after the fact, they do not inherently bind one person to a single credential scan, so the fix requires a physical or electronic control like anti-passback.
- ✗
RFID badges
Why it's wrong here
RFID badges serve as an identification or authentication token, but they cannot by themselves distinguish between the legitimate badge holder and someone who slips in behind them. When a tailgater follows an authorized employee, the reader only sees one valid credential exchange and has no way to know that a second person entered. Without a turnstile, mantraps, or occupancy tracking, RFID merely confirms possession of a badge rather than preventing unauthorized physical entry.
- ✗
CCTV surveillance
Why it's wrong here
CCTV surveillance is a detective control that records incidents after they occur, offering evidence for investigations or audits. Visible cameras might discourage some opportunistic offenders, but they do not physically block or alert in real time unless a human watches the feed and intervenes. Because unauthorized entry through tailgating happens in seconds, even monitored CCTV cannot reliably prevent the penetration—it can only document it after the fact.
- ✓
Turnstiles with anti-passback
Why this is correct
Turnstiles with anti-passback provide a physical barrier coupled with stateful access control, ensuring that one badge scan admits exactly one person. Once a credential is presented to enter, it is flagged as 'inside' and cannot be reused until that person uses the same badge at an exit controller, so a single swipe cannot allow two individuals through. In a mantrap configuration, the interlocked doors and anti-passback enforcement make tailgating virtually impossible and directly address the security auditor's finding.
Go deeper
Related to this question
Learn chapter
Secure Disposal of Electronic Equipment
Key term
Authentication
Authentication is the process of verifying that someone or something is who or what it claims to be before granting access to a system or resource.
Key term
Security
Security in IT is the practice of protecting systems, networks, and data from unauthorized access, damage, or theft.
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JA
Written by Johnson Ajibi, MSc IT Security
Senior Network & Security Engineer · founder of Courseiva
This 220-1102 practice question is part of Courseiva's free CompTIA certification practice question bank. Courseiva provides original exam-style practice questions with explanations, topic-based practice, mock exams, readiness tracking, and study analytics to help learners prepare for the 220-1102 exam.