Information Technology Audit: Malta Food Agency

The Auditor General Charles Deguara today presented to the Speaker of the House of Representatives Hon. Dr Anglu Farrugia the National Audit Office (NAO) report entitled “Information Technology Audit: Malta Food Agency”.

The Report included a review of the IT infrastructure and operations, and also reviewed the core IT system (PMMS) utilised by the Malta Food Agency (MFA). This IT audit aimed to determine whether the MFA had the necessary controls in place to maintain the confidentiality, integrity and availability of data, ensure the efficient use of IT resources, as well as to identify any potential risks and make the necessary recommendations to mitigate such risks.
Amongst the key findings and recommendations made by the NAO in this audit report, the NAO commended the fact that the PMMS has a sound audit trail functionality, thus ensuring that every step of the buying and selling process of fruit and vegetables is recorded centrally and in real-time. Reference was also made to the following:

a. Once the Business Continuity Plan, which has just been drafted, is finalised, the MFA should regularly review and test it to ensure that it remains relevant and effective against evolving threats and risks.

b. The MFA should develop and formalise its own Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs), especially in the daily operations of the core PMMS application across the Pitkalija in Ta’ Qali, to ensure that employees understand and duly follow the established procedures.

c. Proper cable management and housecleaning is maintained in all locations where network cabinets are installed and where applicable, the rooms are equipped with air-conditioning and the network cabinets have adequate ventilation. Furthermore, the NAO made some recommendations to enhance the existing Cash Office security measures.

d. The NAO also recommended that the MFA implements a system that notifies hawkers to renew their yearly licence within a specific timeframe, enhances the MFA website to support dual languages and conducts periodic data cleaning exercises on its core IT application given the significant volume of data handled on a daily basis.