Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1546781
6 maltatoday | SUNDAY • 27 SEPTEMBER 2026 NEWS Australia was attacked by a rogue AI agent. Is Malta safe? Experts think so MALTA'S government IT infra- structure has measures in place to respond to emerging cyber threats, including previously un- known zero-day vulnerabilities, the Malta Information Technolo- gy Agency told MaltaToday. A zero-day vulnerability is a pre- viously unknown security flaw in software or systems that develop- ers have had little or no time to fix before it can be exploited by attackers. A rogue OpenAI agent hacked an Australian government website in June and accessed private data in what experts say is the first known case of its kind in the world. In the aftermath of the incident, which was only made public last week, MaltaToday reached out to MI- TA in a bid to understand Malta's preparedness in case of a similar attempt. MITA said it maintains cyber- security incident management, monitoring and response capabili- ties that allow it to react to emerg- ing threats, including vulnerabili- ties that have not previously been identified. Depending on the nature and se- verity of an attack, the agency said its response can include increased monitoring, temporary protec- tive controls, changes to system configurations, the accelerated deployment of security updates when available, and coordination with relevant stakeholders and technology partners. The agency did not disclose de- tails of its operational security procedures, saying these are not made public. However, MITA said its es- tablished cybersecurity incident management practices include assessing the potential impact of a threat, introducing measures to reduce the risk, increasing moni- toring where necessary and coor- dinating with public entities and trusted partners. The objective, MITA insisted is to maintain the security, integri- ty and availability of government digital services. Governments are not powerless Concerns continue to grow over the use of increasingly capable AI agents in cyber-attacks. Unlike conventional software tools, AI agents can potentially automate and adapt in identifying vulner- abilities and attempt to exploit them. AI expert Alexiei Dingli said the Australia case should not be interpreted as evidence that gov- ernments are powerless against AI-driven attacks. "This was not a simple prompt, but a highly so- phisticated AI agent whose costs run into millions," Dingli clarified. He said the development re- mained a concern, but argued the availability of such tools made continued investment in cyberse- curity necessary. "The reality is the tools are out there, and this will continue to happen," he said. "This is an AI race, and we have to ensure the right guys are leading it." Dingli also noted cyber-attacks involving automated systems were not entirely new, pointing out that similar attacks had previ- ously been carried out by human hackers. For government agencies like MITA, one of the challenges is identifying malicious behaviour rather than simply determining whether an AI system is behind it. "Government systems employ multiple layers of security con- trols designed to detect and assess suspicious, automated, or poten- tially malicious activity," a MITA spokesperson said. Some AI-enabled tools and au- tomated agents may be identifia- ble through behavioural patterns, traffic characteristics, reputation information and other technical indicators. But there is no single mechanism capable of definitive- ly distinguishing all AI-generated activity from legitimate user activ- ity, the agency said. As a result, cybersecurity mon- itoring focuses on identifying anomalous, unauthorised or po- tentially harmful behaviour rather than the technology used to gen- erate that behaviour. MITA said it continuously re- views and strengthens its detec- tion and protection capabilities in response to evolving threats and attack techniques. Time to rethink digitalisation? Dingli said the growing use of AI did not mean Malta should re- consider its broader push towards digitisation. "I would say the op- posite," he said, arguing more investment was needed in secure systems, including measures such as two-factor authentication. He said the human element re- mained a recurring weakness in cybersecurity and pointed to the recent Revolut data breach as an example, while acknowledging that the circumstances were dif- ferent. "We have to invest and work towards improving these technologies," Dingli said. MITA said it does not com- ment on the "security posture or operational details" of specific government systems. "However, safeguarding government digital services remains a continuous priority, and cybersecurity meas- ures are regularly reviewed and enhanced to address emerging risks," it said. KARL AZZOPARDI kazzopardi@mediatoday.com.mt Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese addressing the UN General Assembly during which he revealed that a rogue AI agent had hacked a government website (Photo: UN/Loey Felipe) The Maltese government IT agency, MITA, maintains the security, integrity and availability of government digital services AI expert Alexiei Dingli said the Australia case should not be interpreted as evidence that governments are powerless against AI-driven attacks