FC0-U71 Security Practice Question
An employee is tailgated into a secure office building by someone without a badge. Which type of security threat does this represent?
⚠ Common exam trap
The trap is confusing tailgating with other social engineering tactics like pretexting or baiting, especially when the scenario involves a physical building; candidates may overlook that tailgating is specifically the act of following through a door.
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
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Tailgating
Tailgating is the correct answer because it specifically describes an unauthorized person following an authorized employee through a secure door without presenting credentials. This is a physical security threat, not a social engineering attack conducted remotely. The scenario matches the definition exactly.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
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Phishing
Why it's wrong here
Phishing is a social-engineering attack delivered by email, SMS or voice that tricks a user into revealing credentials or clicking malicious links. Tailgating involves physical entry behind an authorised person, so no message or lure is involved. Phishing would fit if the attacker had emailed the employee a fake login page instead.
- ✓
Tailgating
Why this is correct
Tailgating occurs when an unauthorised person follows an employee through a secured entrance without presenting credentials. The scenario describes exactly this physical social-engineering technique, where the attacker exploits the employee's authorised badge access rather than defeating the access control system itself.
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Baiting
Why it's wrong here
Baiting leaves physical media, such as a malware-laden USB drive, for a victim to plug in, exploiting curiosity. Here the intruder simply walks through a door behind a badge holder, with no lure planted. Baiting would be correct if a labelled USB stick had been dropped in the car park.
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Pretexting
Why it's wrong here
Pretexting is a fabricated scenario, often by phone or email, used to manipulate someone into divulging information or granting access. Tailgating requires no invented story, only physical proximity at a controlled door. Pretexting would apply if the intruder posed as a delivery driver to talk their way past reception.
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JA
Written and reviewed by Johnson Ajibi, MSc IT Security
Senior Network & Security Engineer · founder of Courseiva
Last reviewed September 2026 · checked against the official CompTIA exam blueprint
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