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Practical guides, analysis and updates on cloud, cybersecurity and IT for businesses. Search by topic or keyword.
Since 9 June 2025 there has been a free, GDPR-compliant European public DNS resolver: DNS4EU. Five variants, an honest comparison with Google, Cloudflare and Quad9, what it is not, and why our DIG uses it by default.
Read the articleFrom October 2026, Windows updates enable Memory integrity (HVCI) and virtualization-based security on eligible devices, respecting the choices already made by administrators and users. What it is, hardware requirements, incompatible drivers and event 3087, PowerShell commands to check the status, Intune and Group Policy settings, UEFI lock, recovery from Windows RE and a checklist around the 13 October Patch Tuesday.
Read the articleWindows Server 2022 leaves mainstream support on 13 October 2026 but receives security patches until 14 October 2031; Windows Server 2016 goes fully out of support on 12 January 2027, then paid ESU only with Azure Arc. Official dates for all versions, PowerShell commands for the inventory, what to do server by server, Microsoft 365 Apps on terminal servers (security until 10 October 2028), upgrade paths to Windows Server 2025 and domain controllers.
Read the articleOn 25 September 2026 MIMIT added a section of answers for applicants to the Cloud and Cybersecurity Voucher FAQs, expanded to 42 on 1 October. Who is eligible and who is not: associated practices and professional orders excluded, individual professionals, newly formed companies, CAF, consortia and Confidi admitted, agricultural businesses only for secondary activities. Fixed-line connectivity only, a self-declaration is enough. Catastrophe insurance also on rented or leased assets. Expenses eligible only after the application is submitted. Offer signed by the supplier (FAQ 35 corrected on 8 October) and ministerial templates for the application and the offer. Delegation possible, signature by the legal representative. Payout in two instalments or one, 12 months for purchases and 30 days to sign subscriptions.
Read the articleOn 27 July 2026 the second edition of ISO/IEC 27017 was published, eleven years after the first: structure aligned with ISO/IEC 27002:2022 and its 93 controls, no more CLD identifiers, 4 dedicated cloud controls instead of 7, a new cloud service partner role. The most concrete novelty is the guidance under 5.31 on authority requests for access to customer data: legal assessment, customer notification, only the requested data. The Revolut case of September shows why it matters. With the table of questions to ask your cloud provider and what happens to certificates.
Read the articleMIMIT updated the Cloud and Cybersecurity Voucher FAQs on 2 and 15 September 2026: MSP model allowed in category D, products from unlisted brands through an approved supplier, at least 70% of the plan in products, configuration of equipment already in use not eligible, customised offers with starting point and upgrade, 30 Mbps nominal. And the key question before 20 October: the beneficiary declares the starting point, but the supplier must have verified it — with a documented assessment, a countersigned document and the evidence attached to the offer.
Read the articleAfter the 8 September cumulative updates, Remote Desktop session hosts on Windows Server 2016, 2019, 2022 and 2025 stop accepting connections during working hours. Microsoft resolved it on 14 September with out-of-band updates: Update Catalog only for Windows Server until 13 October, Windows Update and WSUS for Windows 11 24H2, 25H2 and 26H1. Updated on 14 October, with the October cumulative updates bringing the fix through Windows Update and WSUS as well: how to unlock from the console a server that does not accept even administrator connections, the KB table by version with links to the Microsoft articles, what to install today and the Known Issue Rollback step by step for those who cannot update right away, with the traps: policy set to Disabled, not Enabled, and a registry identifier that differs for every build.
Read the articleThe Italian cloud and cybersecurity voucher does not reimburse purchases: it rewards a documented improvement over a declared starting point. Expenses count only after the application, advance invoices included; supplier offers must describe starting point and upgrade; four kinds of plan are excluded; professional services cannot exceed 30%. The full timeline from 20 October to payment, the requirements nobody expects (30 Mbps, catastrophe insurance), the irreversible choice between direct purchase and subscription, and a six-step checklist — all with references to the articles of the decrees.
Read the articleFrom 1 September 2026 Microsoft auto-enables passkeys for anyone using SMS or voice; from 1 February 2027 it retires Microsoft-provided SMS and voice, with a blocking registration prompt and no opt-out. The four verified dates, the legacy MFA trap that makes a non-compliant tenant report “no action required”, the personal-phone problem and the options for people without a company smartphone.
Read the articleWith the directorial decree of 29 July 2026 MIMIT defined the list of approved suppliers for the €150 million voucher (50% non-repayable up to €20,000). How to consult the list on Invitalia, the per-type code rule, when applications open (submission from 10 November 2026) and how to prepare. AtWorkStudio is approved in all five categories.
Read the articleUnioncamere Lombardia funds 50% (up to €10,000) of digital technologies, consulting and training for Lombardy SMEs: cloud, cybersecurity, AI, IoT. Applications from 28 July in chronological order. The mixed-project rule (consulting 30-70% from qualified suppliers only), who is left out and what to prepare now.
Read the articleThe Digital Omnibus postpones the high-risk AI obligations to 2 December 2027 — and many companies have shelved the file. Wrong move: NIS2 arrives in October 2026, DORA is already in force, and business continuity for AI-dependent processes is already a legal requirement. The new dates, the CrowdStrike lesson and the four moves to make now.
Read the articleThere is no “best” EDR/XDR in absolute terms. A practical comparison of Microsoft Defender, Bitdefender GravityZone — a European vendor qualified ACN QC2 — and Acronis, a Swiss platform with 24/7 MDR, and the criteria to choose with no lock-in: existing stack, data residency, NIS2 and managed service.
Read the articleThe Emilia Chamber of Commerce funds 50% (up to €10,000) of cloud, cybersecurity and digitalisation projects for SMEs in Parma, Piacenza and Reggio Emilia. Applications from 20 to 30 July, processed in chronological order: the dates, the supplier rule, the mandatory Selfi4.0 report and the comparison with the MIMIT voucher.
Read the articleOn Tuesday 14 July SQL Server 2016 receives the final security updates of its life: after that, every new vulnerability stays open forever. How to find hidden instances (the SQL Express installs inside business applications), apply the last patch everywhere and choose the path — upgrade, Azure SQL or ESU via Azure Arc.
Read the articleA WireGuard-based overlay network connects users, servers and sites with direct encrypted tunnels, with no VPN concentrators exposed on the Internet. How it works, what the control plane really sees — keys, policies, topology — and why the decisive question is where it lives and which jurisdiction it answers to. With an honest comparison with Microsoft Entra Private Access.
Read the articleThe UniFi controller is the management plane of the entire network: where it lives determines who updates it, who backs it up and where its data ends up. The four options compared — on-site CloudKey, self-hosted, Official UniFi Hosting, managed hosting — with the criteria that matter: backups, updates, data residency.
Read the articleOn 14 July SQL Server 2016 leaves extended support: no more security patches. The three paths for SMEs — upgrading to SQL Server 2022, Azure SQL, Extended Security Updates via Azure Arc — plus the parallel Windows 10 chapter, with concrete steps to set up the transition.
Read the articleSign in to Windows with a FIDO2 key and a fingerprint, without a password, on Entra hybrid joined PCs managed by Intune, with SSO to on-premises resources via Entra Kerberos. Architecture, user experience (fingerprint only) and the real limits, from a real case.
Read the articleWhat disaster recovery is, why it is not the same as backup, what a DR plan contains and how it is measured with RPO and RTO. The ransomware test and the role of the cloud, for SMEs.
Read the articleFrom July 2026, Microsoft 365 Business mailboxes grow from 50 to 100 GB. But capacity is not retention: why email archiving is still needed for retention, immutability, legal hold and recovery — and why the archive stays at 50 GB on the Business plans.
Read the articleA company handling health data on behalf of US clients is a Business Associate under HIPAA: a BAA is required, a US datacenter is not, and HIPAA certification does not exist. The mapping to ISO 27001, the HHS cloud guidance and the upcoming Security Rule update.
Read the articleThe largest Patch Tuesday ever: around 200 vulnerabilities fixed, 33 critical, six zero-days closed (including GreenPlasma, YellowKey and HTTP/2 Bomb). And if printing stopped working on Windows Server 2022, the culprit is hotpatch KB5087424. What to install, what to verify and what remains exposed.
Read the articleMicrosoft Entra Kerberos lets Azure Virtual Desktop and FSLogix profiles on Azure Files run without a domain controller: it is still Kerberos, but the tickets are issued by the cloud rather than by Active Directory. How it really works, hybrid vs cloud-only, and which companies it makes sense for.
Read the articleMicrosoft will disable NTLM by default. IAKerb and LocalKDC bring Kerberos to scenarios that used to fall back to NTLM: local accounts, domains with no line of sight to the KDC, heterogeneous environments with NAS and macOS. How it works, why it is a zero-trust matter and what to do today.
Read the articleThe Italian CSIRT reports systematic Qilin ransomware campaigns against Italian SMEs: access via VPN appliances without MFA, encryption of VMware ESXi hypervisors and backup neutralisation. The 5-step kill chain and the 5 countermeasures to defend your business.
Read the articleEnd-to-end managed service or platform-only delivery on which the internal IT team operates autonomously: differences, five decision questions, the hybrid model and compliance coverage for NIS2 (art. 21 of Italian Legislative Decree 138/2024), ISO/IEC 27001:2022 A.8.13 / A.5.30 and DORA.
Read the articleMay 2026 unauthenticated RCEs in Cisco SD-WAN (CVE-2026-20182) and Fortinet (AL04/260513) expose the limits of the VPN model. What ZTNA is, how Microsoft Entra Private Access works, a 6-step migration path and NIS2 + ISO 27001:2022 coverage.
Read the articleOn 24 May 2026 Regulation (EU) 2016/679 turns ten. More than €6 billion in fines across Europe, €311 million in Italy spread over 538 cases: a story of continuous evolution. In many SMEs, however, privacy is still seen as a bureaucratic chore handled by non-specialist consultants. Balance, real cases, and convergence with NIS2 and ISO 27001.
Read the articleACN FAQs FRN.5–FRN.10 (18 May 2026) clarify intermediated supply (FRN.8) and intra-group suppliers (FRN.9). What to do by 31 May 2026 for the annual update of NIS entities on the ACN platform.
Read the articleCVE-2026-42897, an XSS vulnerability in Outlook Web Access on Exchange Server 2016/2019/SE: active exploitation in the wild, no official patch and CISA KEV listing. What to do today and why Microsoft 365 closes the problem at its root.
Read the articleISO/IEC 27001:2022 is a solid foundation for NIS2 compliance but it is not sufficient. Seven operational gaps with Legislative Decree 138/2024, the entity vs supplier distinction with contractual cascade, personal liability of company top management and a three-horizon roadmap for those already certified.
Read the articleEU Regulation 2024/2847: the CE mark comes to software, IoT and connected devices. ENISA vulnerability notification within 24h from 11 September 2026, full application from 11 December 2027. What changes for European SMEs that buy software.
Read the articleSMTP relies on opportunistic StartTLS, which is vulnerable to downgrade attacks. MTA-STS (RFC 8461) and DANE (RFC 7672) make TLS mandatory between mail servers. Microsoft Exchange Online has rolled out outbound DANE. A practical rollout path for your organisation.
Read the articleA real 2026 case: an IT vendor asks for a permanent VPN into a client network to manage a phone system. The right answer is not technical, it is risk governance. What NIS2, GDPR and ISO 27001 say about the IT supply chain, and why it matters for accountants, lawyers and SMEs well beyond NIS2 entities.
Read the articleAt the Clusit event of 29 April 2026 ACN clarified categorisation of activities, non-fungible suppliers, the 24-hour window starting from evidence and the responsibility of management bodies. NIS2 enters the phase of real risk governance.
Read the articleMicrosoft’s KB5082063 April 2026 update sends domain controllers into LSASS reboot loops and triggers unexpected BitLocker recovery prompts on Windows Server 2016/2019/2022/2025. Symptoms, mitigations and operational checklist.
Read the articleItaly’s CSIRT reports a surge in attacks on SCADA, IoT and industrial systems exposed via VNC on the Internet. Weak encryption, brute force, hacktivism. Mitigations and Zero Trust checklist for SMEs.
Read the articleItaly’s ACN determination 155238/2026 introduces 10 macro-areas and 4 relevance categories for NIS2 entities. Mandatory submission on the ACN platform from 1 May to 30 June 2026.
Read the articleHow much does a business server really cost? The 5 line items that drive real TCO: hardware (only 30-40%), electricity, IT staff time (20-25%), licensing, maintenance. When cloud rental really wins.
Read the articleMay 7, 2026 is World Password Day. Passkeys supported by M365, Google, Apple and GitHub, SMS/TOTP MFA no longer enough, NIST PQC standards since 2024. Three concrete actions for your business in 2026.
Read the articleThe US CLOUD Act allows extraterritorial access to data hosted by American providers, even in Europe. What changes with Schrems II, the Data Privacy Framework and EU Data Boundary.
Read the articleItaly’s CSIRT has reported an OAuth campaign against Microsoft 365 that bypasses MFA. Consent Phishing and Device Code Grant: mechanism, risks and practical Entra ID countermeasures.
Read the articleDigitally signed documents without a timestamp stop being verifiable when the certificate expires. Why publishing them online is risky and how to correctly apply CAdES-T for PA supplies.
Read the articleFrom 14 April 2026, the Active Directory KDC no longer issues Kerberos RC4 tickets. Legacy service accounts, NAS with keytabs and non-Windows devices may stop authenticating. How to check and migrate to AES.
Read the articleItaly’s CSIRT has confirmed 13 Akira ransomware incidents against Italian SMEs in early 2026. Unpatched perimeter firewalls and SSL VPN gateways remain the main vector. What to do today.
Read the articleTen-year civil obligations, electronic invoicing, GDPR, NIS2 and Italian PEC: in 2026 corporate email must be retained in an immutable, signed and searchable way. Mailbox backup is no longer enough.
Read the articleThe Italian National Cybersecurity Agency (ACN) has awarded the QC1 qualification to ATWS Email Security Gateway (SA-7582) and ATWS Secure Backup for Microsoft 365 (SA-7583). Valid for 36 months.
Read the articleSoftware vendors with sysadmin access, overlapping backup tools, no governance. The database server in SMEs is the most critical and least controlled system. How to regain control.
Read the articleCVE-2026-3098 in Smart Slider 3 exposes 500,000 WordPress sites. But the problem is not the individual plugin: it’s the architecture itself. Why static sites on cloud infrastructure are the alternative.
Read the articleOver 90% of cyber attacks begin with an email. How an email security gateway with Libraesva protects business mailboxes from phishing, BEC and malware.
Read the article80% of breaches start with compromised credentials. MFA, Conditional Access and Zero Trust: how to protect digital identities and comply with NIS2 and DORA.
Read the articleOver 85% of malware uses DNS to communicate with C2 servers. How Azure DNS Security Policy protects enterprise DNS resolution: filtering, DNSSEC, monitoring and NIS2 compliance.
Read the articleNIS2 requires a CSIRT contact point and strict incident notification timelines. For SMEs without a dedicated team, an outsourced CSIRT is the solution to achieve compliance without building internal capabilities.
Read the articleOEMs increasingly require TISAX compliance from their suppliers. For automotive supply chain companies in Piacenza and Emilia-Romagna, getting prepared is a competitive priority.
Read the article+49% cyber incidents in 2025. Italy accounts for 9.6% of global attacks with 507 serious incidents. Manufacturing +79%, healthcare +19%. Key findings and what they mean for SMEs.
Read the article60% of SMEs that lose their data close within 6 months. The 5 most common mistakes, the 3-2-1-1-0 rule and how to truly protect your business with tested, resilient backups.
Read the articleIdentity, networking, data protection, monitoring and compliance: the five essential controls for a secure Microsoft Azure environment.
Read the articleThe free cybersecurity self-assessment at assessment.atworkstudio.it is now available in three languages: Italian, English and German. Same 106 questions based on NIST CSF 2.0, with a fully localised interface and report.
Read the articleThe Zscaler report on 1,750 IT leaders and the WEF confirm: corporate security strategies are still too inward-focused. The new perimeter is user identity.
Read the articleCertifications, vendor independence, cloud and cybersecurity expertise: concrete criteria for evaluating an IT partner in Piacenza.
Read the articleManaged cloud vs hosting, data residency, ISO certifications and NIS2 compliance: what to ask your cloud provider.
Read the articleOn-premise server, local datacenter or European cloud? A practical comparison for businesses in Piacenza: costs, security and compliance.
Read the articleTrivy compromised twice in a month, NVIDIA reaches 1 million GPUs in AI factories, Tycoon 2FA dismantled and AWS-Google launch multicloud networking.
Read the articleMIMIT voucher, NIS2 deadlines and Exchange 2016 end of support: three concrete reasons to migrate email and files to Microsoft 365 in 2026. A practical guide for SMEs.
Read the articleAverage score 55/100, only 16% of SMEs classified as mature, and 1 in 4 hit by a breach in the past three years. Key findings from the third Cyber Index PMI report.
Read the articleATWS has applied to register as a supplier for the MIMIT 2026 voucher programme. Non-repayable grants up to €20,000 for cloud and cybersecurity services for SMEs and professionals.
Read the articleOur free self-assessment tool based on the NIST CSF 2.0 framework is now available. 106 questions, instant report and analysis of your organisation’s security posture.
Read the articleACN qualification request submitted for the SaaS backup service for Microsoft 365. Protection of Exchange, SharePoint, OneDrive and Teams with encrypted EU storage.
Read the articleACN qualification request submitted for the email security gateway. Filtering, antispam, antivirus and configurable policies on European cloud infrastructure.
Read the articleATWS Secure Workspace is ACN-qualified and listed in the Cloud Catalogue for the Italian Public Administration. Secure SaaS desktop with MFA and EU-only data.
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