Italian firms urged to audit passwords and user access after summer break

As employees return from summer holidays, Italian companies are being reminded to review password policies, user accounts and system access. A study cited by ANSA shows that the password “admin” remains the most common in Italy, followed by “password” and “123456”. The advisory recommends a complete inventory of active accounts across email, VPN, cloud services and SaaS platforms, disabling any user not active for more than 30 days. It also stresses enforcing minimum password complexity – at least 12 characters with mixed case, numbers and symbols – and replacing shared credentials with individual logins.

Implementing these checks helps close gaps that can arise when staff work remotely, contractors gain temporary access, or interns finish their assignments. Regular audits of access rights and password hygiene are presented as essential steps for small and midsize enterprises to improve cybersecurity without costly tools.