easyMultiple Choice
CISA Practice Question: A company requires employees to use smart cards…
A company requires employees to use smart cards for facility access. Which additional control would BEST prevent tailgating?
⚠ Common exam trap
CISA often tests the distinction between preventive and detective controls, tricking candidates into choosing log audits (detective) when the question asks for the BEST control to PREVENT tailgating.
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
✓
Install mantraps at entry points
A mantrap is a physical access control vestibule that allows only one person through at a time by using interlocking doors, directly preventing tailgating (piggybacking) by design. It enforces one-person-at-a-time entry, which is the most effective control against an unauthorized person following an authorized one through a door.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✗
Require biometric authentication
Why it's wrong here
Biometric authentication verifies the individual at the reader but still admits one person per successful scan, leaving the door open for a second person to follow through before it closes. It is tempting because biometrics strengthen identity assurance, which is its purpose, but tailgating is a physical presence problem.
- ✗
Use keypad locks on doors
Why it's wrong here
Keypad locks replace the smart-card reader with a shared code, which can be observed or passed on and does not bind entry to an individual, so they fail to stop an unauthorised person entering behind an authenticated employee. They suit low-security interior doors, not anti-tailgating.
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Conduct random audits of access logs
Why it's wrong here
Auditing access logs is detective and retrospective; it identifies tailgating after entry has already occurred, so it cannot stop an unauthorised person following a badge-holder through the door. It tempts because log review supports investigations and compliance evidence, which is its actual purpose.
- ✓
Install mantraps at entry points
Why this is correct
A mantrap is an interlocking double-door portal that admits one person at a time and will not release the second door until the first closes and authentication completes. This physically enforces single-person entry, directly preventing an unauthorised individual from following an authenticated smart-card holder through the doorway.
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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 ISACA exam blueprint
This CISA practice question is part of Courseiva's free ISACA 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 CISA exam.