Three students and a University lecturer who had faced criminal charges after they brought security vulnerabilities in an app to light under good intentions were given a Presidential Pardon.This comes after a political commitment by Prime Minister Robert Abela and his Cabinet to ensure that the four of them would no longer face prosecution in relation to the ethical hacking case, according to a statement.Abela emphasised that the case should have been approached differently and not just from a legal perspective, but from the point of view of justice and fairness too. He also highlighted the State’s responsibility to update national laws to keep up with evolving technological realities. Back in October 2022, students Michael Debono, 22, Giorgio Grigolo, 21, and Luke Bjorn Scerri, 23, scanned popular student app Freehour’s software and discovered vulnerabilities in it.Grigolo made a change to the app in an effort to inform Freehour of the vulnerability, took a screenshot of the change and reverted everything back to as it was before.The students sent an email – outlining their findings and asking for a reward in return for spotting the mistake to Freehour founder Zach Ciappara. The email was proofread by lecturer Mark Joseph Vella, 45, who was later charged as an accomplice after the incident was reported to the police by Ciappara and an investigation was opened.•