diff --git a/cmd/jaeger/config-cassandra.yaml b/cmd/jaeger/config-cassandra.yaml
index 00b038144941..893b3a1800f1 100644
--- a/cmd/jaeger/config-cassandra.yaml
+++ b/cmd/jaeger/config-cassandra.yaml
@@ -21,9 +21,13 @@ extensions:
       some_storage:
         cassandra:
           keyspace: "jaeger_v1_dc1"
+          username: "cassandra"
+          password: "cassandra"
       another_storage:
         cassandra:
           keyspace: "jaeger_v1_dc1"
+          username: "cassandra"
+          password: "cassandra"
 receivers:
   otlp:
     protocols:
diff --git a/docker-compose/cassandra/v3/docker-compose.yaml b/docker-compose/cassandra/v3/docker-compose.yaml
index fdca44acfe7b..4f8796ea4500 100644
--- a/docker-compose/cassandra/v3/docker-compose.yaml
+++ b/docker-compose/cassandra/v3/docker-compose.yaml
@@ -4,6 +4,10 @@ services:
     ports:
       - "9042:9042"
       - "9160:9160"
+    # We enable password authentication that defaults to cassandra/cassandra superuser / pwd.
+    # https://cassandra.apache.org/doc/stable/cassandra/operating/security.html#authentication
+    command: >
+      /bin/sh -c "echo 'authenticator: PasswordAuthenticator' >> /etc/cassandra/cassandra.yaml && docker-entrypoint.sh cassandra -f"
     networks:
       - cassandra-net
     healthcheck:
@@ -11,7 +15,7 @@ services:
       interval: 30s
       timeout: 10s
       retries: 5
-         
+
 networks:
   cassandra-net:
     driver: bridge
diff --git a/docker-compose/cassandra/v4/docker-compose.yaml b/docker-compose/cassandra/v4/docker-compose.yaml
index 2b8ef6d38f67..196a1b622250 100644
--- a/docker-compose/cassandra/v4/docker-compose.yaml
+++ b/docker-compose/cassandra/v4/docker-compose.yaml
@@ -4,6 +4,10 @@ services:
     ports:
       - "9042:9042"
       - "9160:9160"
+    # We enable password authentication that defaults to cassandra/cassandra superuser / pwd.
+    # https://cassandra.apache.org/doc/stable/cassandra/operating/security.html#authentication
+    command: >
+      /bin/sh -c "echo 'authenticator: PasswordAuthenticator' >> /etc/cassandra/cassandra.yaml && docker-entrypoint.sh cassandra -f"
     networks:
       - cassandra-net
     healthcheck:
diff --git a/plugin/storage/integration/cassandra_test.go b/plugin/storage/integration/cassandra_test.go
index 6b45839a1a4e..c8f88d014527 100644
--- a/plugin/storage/integration/cassandra_test.go
+++ b/plugin/storage/integration/cassandra_test.go
@@ -6,6 +6,7 @@ package integration
 
 import (
 	"context"
+	"os"
 	"testing"
 
 	"github.com/stretchr/testify/require"
@@ -50,14 +51,19 @@ func (*CassandraStorageIntegration) initializeCassandraFactory(t *testing.T, fla
 }
 
 func (s *CassandraStorageIntegration) initializeCassandra(t *testing.T) {
+	username := os.Getenv("CASSANDRA_USERNAME")
+	password := os.Getenv("CASSANDRA_USERNAME")
 	f := s.initializeCassandraFactory(t, []string{
-		"--cassandra.basic.allowed-authenticators=",
-		"--cassandra.password=password",
-		"--cassandra.username=username",
+		"--cassandra.basic.allowed-authenticators=org.apache.cassandra.auth.PasswordAuthenticator",
+		"--cassandra.password=" + password,
+		"--cassandra.username=" + username,
 		"--cassandra.keyspace=jaeger_v1_dc1",
 		"--cassandra-archive.keyspace=jaeger_v1_dc1_archive",
 		"--cassandra-archive.enabled=true",
 		"--cassandra-archive.servers=127.0.0.1",
+		"--cassandra-archive.basic.allowed-authenticators=org.apache.cassandra.auth.PasswordAuthenticator",
+		"--cassandra-archive.password=" + password,
+		"--cassandra-archive.username=" + username,
 	})
 	s.factory = f
 	var err error
diff --git a/scripts/cassandra-integration-test.sh b/scripts/cassandra-integration-test.sh
index 8e6bfd784e6f..849c4109981b 100755
--- a/scripts/cassandra-integration-test.sh
+++ b/scripts/cassandra-integration-test.sh
@@ -3,7 +3,11 @@
 # Copyright (c) 2024 The Jaeger Authors.
 # SPDX-License-Identifier: Apache-2.0
 
-set -uxf -o pipefail
+set -euxf -o pipefail
+
+export CASSANDRA_USERNAME="cassandra"
+export CASSANDRA_PASSWORD="cassandra"
+success="false"
 
 usage() {
   echo $"Usage: $0 <cassandra_version> <schema_version>"
@@ -23,10 +27,19 @@ setup_cassandra() {
   echo "docker_compose_file=${compose_file}" >> "${GITHUB_OUTPUT:-/dev/null}"
 }
 
+dump_logs() {
+  local compose_file=$1
+  echo "::group::🚧 🚧 🚧 Cassandra logs"
+  docker compose -f "${compose_file}" logs
+  echo "::endgroup::"
+}
+
 teardown_cassandra() {
   local compose_file=$1
+   if [[ "$success" == "false" ]]; then
+    dump_logs "${compose_file}"
+  fi
   docker compose -f "$compose_file" down
-  exit "${exit_status}"
 }
 
 apply_schema() {
@@ -40,6 +53,8 @@ apply_schema() {
     --env CQLSH_PORT=9042
     --env "TEMPLATE=/cassandra-schema/${schema_version}.cql.tmpl"
     --env "KEYSPACE=${keyspace}"
+    --env "CASSANDRA_USERNAME=${CASSANDRA_USERNAME}"
+    --env "CASSANDRA_PASSWORD=${CASSANDRA_PASSWORD}"
     --network host
   )
   docker build -t ${image} ${schema_dir}
@@ -57,22 +72,21 @@ run_integration_test() {
 
   setup_cassandra "${compose_file}"
 
+  # shellcheck disable=SC2064
+  trap "teardown_cassandra ${compose_file}" EXIT
+
   apply_schema "$schema_version" "$primaryKeyspace"
   apply_schema "$schema_version" "$archiveKeyspace"
 
   if [ "${jaegerVersion}" = "v1" ]; then
     STORAGE=cassandra make storage-integration-test
-    exit_status=$?
   elif [ "${jaegerVersion}" == "v2" ]; then
     STORAGE=cassandra make jaeger-v2-storage-integration-test
-    exit_status=$?
   else
     echo "Unknown jaeger version $jaegerVersion. Valid options are v1 or v2"
     exit 1
   fi
-
-  # shellcheck disable=SC2064
-  trap "teardown_cassandra ${compose_file}" EXIT
+  success="true"
 }