As the nation marks the 25th anniversary of the 9/11 attacks, a new survey suggests many Americans still doubt that security in offices and other everyday buildings has kept pace with the threats they face.

The YouGov survey, commissioned by Alcatraz, found that 79% of Americans do not believe physical security has significantly improved since 9/11, while 76% said everyday office buildings have not received security investment comparable to aviation.

The findings come amid heightened attention to vulnerabilities at secured facilities. Alcatraz pointed to recent security breaches at Harvard, UCLA, 30 Rockefeller Center and the Empire State Building as examples.

According to Alcatraz, three of the four incidents involved tailgating, in which an unauthorized person follows someone with a valid credential through a secured door. In those cases, the company said, the access control systems performed as designed by validating the authorized credential but did not register the second person entering behind the credential holder.

The survey also found that 73% of respondents described upgrading physical security technology as at least somewhat urgent, while 60% said they don’t trust their organization’s security systems to stay current.

Security directors face a familiar budget battle

Although the survey measured the views of U.S. adults rather than security professionals, Alcatraz executives said the findings reflect concerns they hear directly from security directors.

“Security directors consistently tell us they carry the full burden of organizational risk in silence,” said Bobby Louissaint, director of business development at Alcatraz, told SecurityInfoWatch. “Far too often, physical security remains an afterthought until a breach occurs, forcing leaders to rely on a major incident just to unlock the budget and executive buy-in required to modernize.”

Matthew Powell, senior director of infrastructure markets at Alcatraz described a similar dynamic to SecurityInfoWatch.

“Many feel physical security is an afterthought compared to departments that generate revenue or face the public,” said Powell, a SIA AI & Utilities Board member. “Security gets treated as risk management, not as a proactive part of the operation. So when budgets compete, security technology gets chosen on price, not capability.”

Louissaint said part of the problem is how organizations budget for physical security compared with IT.

“Leadership routinely budgets for standard IT hardware lifecycles — like laptops and servers — because everyone uses them,” he said. “However, physical security infrastructure is largely invisible to the broader organization, leading executives to view it as a one-time sunk cost rather than an evolving ecosystem requiring routine lifecycle management.”

Modernization isn’t simply a budget issue

Cost isn’t the only factor keeping older systems in place.

Powell described what he sees among security directors as a “paralysis of analysis.” Modernization can involve new cabling, devices, IT updates and training, while security leaders must sort through competing guidance from consultants, integrators, manufacturers and regulators.

“Directors know they need to upgrade, but where do you go to learn what to adopt and how?” Powell said. “Aging infrastructure means new cabling, new devices, IT updates, training. It gets expensive fast.”

For organizations facing those costs, Powell said modernization doesn’t necessarily have to mean wholesale replacement.

“The real challenge is finding technology that makes the best use of what you already have to maximize their budget and teams, instead of ripping and replacing everything,” he said.

Expectations for access control

The survey also points to a gap between what Americans believe access control systems can do and the capabilities Alcatraz says many conventional systems actually provide.

Forty-three percent of respondents believe a standard badge or key-card system can identify who entered through a particular door and alert security in real time when something unusual occurs.

Asked specifically how quickly security would be alerted to a tailgater, only 32% said detection would be immediate or occur within a few minutes. The remaining 68% said the incident would be detected during a later review of video, would not be detected at all or they were unsure.

Powell said expectations are influenced in part by the sophisticated security technology people see portrayed on television.

“People expect to be safe where they work, where they shop, where their kids go to school,” he said. “Seeing security systems gives them that feeling.”

Powell said people can assume the systems they encounter every day have capabilities similar to those they see portrayed on television. When they discover those systems may not be as capable as they assumed, he said, they become concerned.

The survey also found that 58% of respondents are aware key cards and badges can be duplicated or shared.

Biometrics find a more receptive audience

The survey also found substantial receptiveness to alternatives to traditional credentials. Forty-eight percent said they would “definitely” or “most likely” want biometric verification in place of key cards.

Powell said familiarity with biometric authentication on consumer devices has helped change attitudes toward the technology.

“Technologies security leaders wanted in the past but held back on, like facial authentication, are now technologies people will accept because they accept it everyday when they open their phone,” he said.

Powell said education remains important, particularly when addressing privacy concerns.

“When leaders explain the technology clearly, they can deploy it in a way that keeps people safe and protects their trust in their own privacy at the same time,” he said.

The survey found further support for more active breach detection, with 64% of respondents supporting a requirement for high-population buildings to detect and report a breach in real time.

YouGov conducted the survey among 2,000 U.S. adults ages 18 and older from Sept. 1-3. Results were weighted to U.S. Census benchmarks for age, gender, race and ethnicity, education and 2024 presidential vote choice. The survey has a reported credible interval of plus or minus 2.62 percentage points.

Alcatraz will showcase its latest real-time tailgating analytics, visitor profiles and Rock Cortex platform at booth #1339 during GSX 2026 in Atlanta, Sept. 14-16.