For decades, organizations have wrestled with striking the right balance between strong cybersecurity and low user friction. Security tools are only effective if employees can easily adopt and use them every day and nowhere is this tension more evident than with passwords.
A simple yet highly effective way to strengthen password security is by conducting regular password audits. These audits not only help identify weak or compromised credentials but also play a key role in improving your organization’s overall cybersecurity posture.
In this article, we’ll explore what password audits are, why they matter and how they can help safeguard your business.
Nothing New Under the Sun
The weak password problem is staggering in scale. In the US alone, 2025 has already seen 18.4 billion data points leaked, with 2.28 billion tied specifically to passwords. Much of this risk comes down to poor password hygiene: 84% of people admit to reusing passwords and only 34% bother to update them on a monthly basis. This puts countless online accounts in jeopardy, as every reused or outdated password becomes a weak link.
As a result, the headlines remain all too familiar as password-related breaches continue to dominate the news – in some cases breaking records year on year. Earlier this year, security researcher Jeremiah Fowler uncovered a massive database containing more than 184 million records and 47 GB of exposed credentials from users of Apple, Google, Amazon, Microsoft, Facebook, PayPal, Instagram, Snapchat and Spotify. Password-related breaches aren’t going away, they’re only getting more expansive.
Password Audits Reveal Common Issues and Security Gaps
Attackers are constantly refining their password-stealing tactics, but regular password audits can help uncover weak spots before they become an entry point for compromise. By shining a light on patterns and vulnerabilities, audits give security teams a clear roadmap for remediation.
A comprehensive, effective password audit should reveal the following issues and security gaps:
- Banned/compromised passwords: Audits can identify credentials that appear on known breach lists or are flagged as weak and easily guessable. Catching these early prevents attackers from leveraging widely circulated password dumps
- Password reuse patterns: When it comes to password security, reusing the same password across multiple accounts is among the most prevalent and dangerous practices. Audits help highlight these patterns, reducing the risk that a single breach could cascade across multiple systems
- Stale/local admin accounts: Inactive accounts, especially those with elevated privileges, are prime targets for attackers. An audit should flag stale accounts so they can be disabled or removed to reduce unnecessary attack surfaces
- Legacy NTLM/LM hashes: Microsoft Windows transitioned from NTLM to Kerberos a few years ago, but older authentication mechanisms like NTLM or LM hashes remain exploitable in the wild. Audits surface these outdated password formats, prompting organizations to modernize and enforce stronger hashing standards
- Orphaned service accounts: Service accounts tied to abandoned applications or former employees often go unnoticed but still retain access rights. Audits expose these accounts so they can be deprovisioned or reassigned securely
Remediating Weak Passwords
After running an audit, organizations can implement a variety of tools, processes, and workflows to address weak or compromised passwords. The right approach often depends on the scale of the issue and the level of risk involved.
Bulk vs. targeted resets
In the aftermath of a large-scale breach, IT teams may either run a bulk or targeted reset to immediately force password changes across entire user groups. While effective for rapid containment, this can disrupt business operations. Targeted resets that focus on accounts flagged as vulnerable or compromised strike a better balance between security and usability.
SSPR-led user remediation
Self-service password resets (SSPR) empower users to securely update their own credentials without IT intervention. By guiding users through identity verification steps before allowing them to reset their passwords, organizations can speed up remediation while reducing help desk workload.
Temporary account lockdown
For high-risk accounts, a temporary lockdown may be necessary to prevent further unauthorized access. During this period, accounts remain suspended until the user completes a secure recovery process. This approach ensures sensitive systems stay protected while minimizing the chance of attackers exploiting weak credentials.
Applying new strong policies
Long-term remediation requires raising the bar for password strength. Tools like Specops Password Policy can enforce minimum length and complexity, scan for known compromised or common passwords, and block custom dictionaries of risky words related to your business. Stronger policies, when paired with user education, reduce the likelihood of weak passwords slipping through again.
Audit your Active Directory Today
As vital pillars of a proactive defense against evolving threats, regular password audits provide organizations with a clear path to strengthening their defenses by uncovering weak credentials, exposing risky practices, and enabling swift remediation. Attackers are continuously looking to exploit the smallest cracks in your organization’s defenses, so regular auditing is necessary for ensuring that passwords are no longer the weakest link in your organization’s cybersecurity posture.
Specops Password Auditor is a free, read-only tool that scans your Active Directory for various password-related vulnerabilities, including stale admin accounts, blank passwords, duplicate passwords, and known breached/compromised passwords. After running the scan, you’ll receive an interactive report on user and policy risks. Download and run for free today.