Government To Recommend Presidential Pardon For FreeHour Hackers

As previously announced by Prime Minister Robert Abela, the Cabinet of Ministers has reviewed the case of three students and a lecturer facing criminal charges for what has been described as ethical hacking of the student app FreeHour.

The Cabinet considered the public position taken by the alleged victim, as well as the fact that, at the time of the alleged offence, Malta had no specific policies or legislation regulating the identification of security vulnerabilities within organisational systems and networks.

Given these circumstances, the Government has decided to recommend to the President that a presidential pardon be granted to the individuals involved, effectively closing the case.

Furthermore, the Government highlighted the recent introduction of Malta’s National Coordinated Vulnerability Disclosure Policy, which was published in December 2024 following public consultation.

This policy establishes clear guidelines for ethical hacking and aligns with the European Parliament and Council Directive on strengthening cybersecurity measures across the EU.

The lecturer and students were formally informed of this decision during a meeting with Minister for Justice and the Reform of the Construction Sector, Jonathan Attard.

#MaltaDaily