Information on Restrictions to IT Services at TU Berlin

To
All staff
All students

IT attack: information regarding security incident at TU Berlin (in compliance with Article 34 GDPR)

Dear Ladies and Gentlemen,
Dear Members of the University,

Based on our analyses of the IT attack, we now know that data has been breached. Article 34 GDPR requires us to inform all members of Technische Universität Berlin regarding the situation.

TU Berlin’s data protection officers Annette Hiller and Mattis Neiling have been fully updated and are available to answer questions regarding your data at info(at)datenschutz.tu-berlin.de or 030 314-21784/-28973.
 

What happened?

TU Berlin was the target of an encryption Trojan. In the early morning of 30 April 2021, we discovered encrypted data in our Windows system and took immediate action by shutting down all systems within the central Windows environment and disconnecting them from the Internet.

As far as we know, the attack began on 26 April 2021, starting with the decentralized IT systems and progressing via the network to the University’s central IT. The hacker was able to take advantage of a security flaw in combination with several linked weak spots in our IT infrastructure and organization to gain access to administrative rights in the central active directory and compromise the central Windows environment. Using these administrative rights, the hacker began to encrypt a number of Windows systems.
 

What does this mean for you?

Our forensic investigations have shown that the hacker was able to breach and copy the active directory. To date, our ongoing investigations have not discovered any further data breaches.

The active directory contains the following information about all IT systems users at TU Berlin:

• Usernames and passwords (cryptographically secured)
• Email addresses
• Any additional email addresses stored for external email forwarding
• Staff numbers
• Organizational affiliations to IT areas
• Classifications (Ordnungsmerkmal), which for students include their matriculation number
• Permissions such as team affiliations and group memberships
• Further information in text fields completed using self-service management.

Additional information for decentralized units (faculties, institutes, academic chairs, etc.) may also have been stored in the active directory. This could include the IP addresses and inventory numbers of the work computers of staff affected as well as their work or private telephone numbers if provided as contact information.
 

What do you need to do now?

1. Change your TU password immediately (see the information provided on 14 May 2021). You can only access the emergency email server using this new password.
2. If you have used your TU password for other services, change these too. Do not use your new TU password for this purpose and use different passwords for each service. Avoid using passwords which are similar to each other.
3. Beware of phishing campaigns, in other words emails requesting you to provide login details or which take you to other sites requiring you to log in using your data. Be very wary of any requests for additional personal information.

We will request you to change your password again once we have restored or reconstructed our IT environment.
 

What is TU Berlin doing?

All potentially impacted systems will remain switched off and may not be restarted. In addition to our forensic analyses, we are also working hard to reinstall out central IT infrastructure in full. We will incorporate the lessons learned as a result of this attack as well as the recommendations of our IT consultants in our new IT architecture. This will involve both organizational and technical changes. The process of rebuilding will take place in prioritized stages and it may be some months before our IT systems have been fully re-established.

The incident has been reported to the police department with responsibility for cybercrime. We are also using the services of an IT crisis consultant recommended by the Federal Office for Information Security (BSI) to help us examine what happened (forensic investigations) and to find solutions. In compliance with Article 33 GDPR, we have also reported the incident to the Berlin office for data protection and freedom of information (BBDI).
 

Information events for staff and students

We will be holding information events on 21 May 2021 from 11 to 12:00 for staff and 25 May 2021 from 16 to 17:00 for students where you can also ask questions about the situation. You will receive an email shortly inviting you to attend. The issues discussed at these events will be incorporated in the FAQs on our homepage.
 

Sincerely,

Professor Dr. Christian Thomsen
President of TU Berlin

Following an attack by the Conti ransomware group on several of the University’s IT systems, the servers hosting the centrally managed Windows environment were shut down on the morning of 30 April 2021 to prevent further damage.

According to our current understanding, beginning 26 April 2021, the hackers manually worked their way from decentral IT systems through the University network to its central IT system. Using this pathway of attack, the hackers acquired administrative rights to TU Berlin’s central Active Directory, thus compromising the entire central Windows environment. They then used these administrative rights to begin encrypting various Windows systems.

Under the direction of the TU Berlin president, the University appointed an emergency IT committee and contracted the services of an IT crisis security expert on the recommendation of the Federal Office for Information Security to assist with the forensic investigation and addressing the IT security incident.

Within the framework of investigations conducted thus far, the University has found evidence that the hackers breached and copied the Active Directory. Related files were published on the darknet as well. Two information events were held to provide University members with further details about the attack.

TU Berlin has filed a criminal report with the State Office of Criminal Investigation, Cybercrime Department. It has also reported the incident to the Berlin Commissioner for Data Protection and Freedom of Information (BBDI) in accordance with Art. 33 DSGVO and informed its members in detail in accordance with the law.

TU Berlin is currently working on restoring the functionality of all affected services and gradually returning to normal operations. With the help of findings from the forensic investigation of the attack, an adapted IT system architecture has been developed and is currently being implemented.

TU Berlin is making a traffic light system available to all its members. This makes it possible to see at a quick glance which IT services are available again following the cyberattack, which restrictions currently apply, and which services are scheduled to be made available again next. The overview is published by Campus Management (ZECM) on its website and will be updated on a regular basis.

Teaching and research continue to take place. However, procedures such as examination registration and deregistration are impacted. Interim solutions are being developed.

As of 9 September 2021, all of TU Berlin's IT services require an updated password, created after 23 June 2021 at https://pw-neu.tu-berlin.de in accordance with the University password requirements.

This affects services such as MOSES/ISIS, eduroam WLAN, tuPORT, tubCloud, VPN, as well as Zoom and Webex.

Further information

Please refer to the flow chart to determine whether it is safe to turn on your device.

From mid-May until 16 August, Campus Management operated a temporary email service allowing you to access both your personal inbox as well as team inboxes. Your temporary inbox contained all emails which had been cached since 30 April 2021.

As of 16 August 2021, the Exchange servers are operating again. In addition to email, the Exchange servers also provide calendars, appointments, contacts and notes.

On 1 November 2021, TU Berlin's emergency email server (Notmail) will be permanently deactivated. Following this, it will no longer be possible to access the emergency email server or any emails received to the server between 1 May and 16 August 2021.

Campus Management requests all TU members to migrate all relevant emails from this period to the restored Exchange server.

Further information:

• Exchange email server operating again
• Temporary emergency email server to be shut off on 1 November 2021
• Instructions on how to migrate emails from the emergency server to Exchange / How to set up common email clients
• Informationen about changing your passwort

TU staff can continue to communicate with each other using services such as email and Webex Teams. Communication with contacts outside the University is possible by email. Some central services of ISIS and Moses are still available and authentication using your TU account is generally possible.

Telephone

The telephone system is working as normal. The hotlines operated by Campus Management are available again.

Email 

As of 16 August 2021, the Exchange servers are operating again. In addition to email, the Exchange servers also provide calendars, appointments, contacts and notes.

Further information 

Chat

• Students can use the TU channel on Matrix. They also have the option to use the chat function in ISIS.
• TU staff can communicate using Webex Teams.
• Please avoid using messenger apps and social media when discussing work-related issues as these generally use private numbers and profiles. Such services also provide insufficient data and metadata protection and process data outside the area covered by the GDPR.

Video conferencing

• You can continue to use Zoom. Access data can be communicated via ISIS as normal.

• Webex Meetings can be used as before. You can schedule video conferences and send invitations via tu-berlin.webex.com. Scheduled meetings can be viewed and started in Webex Meetings and Teams.

Data backups on streamers exist for all services operated by Campus Management and, according to experts, are in good condition and have not been damaged by the attack. There may be a brief gap between the time of the last backup and when the systems were powered down on 30 April 2021.

We currently believe there is no increased risk. You should continue to take the usual preventative measures such as regularly updating operating systems and software, using virus scanners, etc. Please refer to the Federal Office for Information Security for further information.

Campus Management publishes regularly updated information on its website.

Journalists are requested to send inquiries by email to pressestelle(at)tu-berlin.de or by telephone: +49 (0)30 314-23922.

Email

The Office of Student Affairs and Student Info Services can be reached by contact form.

Please note that TU Berlin continues to only have limited access to the SAP systems for managing student data following the IT attack. As a result, we may not be able to answer individual questions about your account in full or at all. We recommend you read the FAQ – Organization of studies carefully to see if your question is answered there.

Please contact the Campus Management hotline for all questions relating to IT services, such as resetting passwords and using the University’s temporary emergency email system.
 

Virtual Office Hours

Student Info Services is offering virtual office hours via Zoom at the following times:

• Monday and Thursday 9:00-11:00

Virtual Office Hours Servicebereich Bachelor / Bachelor International
To attend the virtual office hours, please click the following link: 
https://tu-berlin.zoom.us/j/63556703293?pwd=bElKSmR2UXp2cFIxdE9EZk5mVk85Zz09
Meeting-ID: 635 5670 3293
Password: 445566
Join by phone:
+49 69 7104 9922 Germany
+49 695 050 2596 Germany
International dial-in numbers: https://tu-berlin.zoom.us/u/cerBQcfHNx
Join meeting from your SIP
sip:63556703293.445566(at)fr.zmeu.us

Virtual Office Hours Servicebereich Master
To attend the virtual office hours, please click the following link: 
https://tu-berlin.zoom.us/j/2668302561?pwd=N2dmU29lYWhTTmhNOFZtVmpJNVVXUT09
Meeting-ID: 266 830 2561
Password: 778899
Join by phone:
+49 69 7104 9922 Germany
+49 695 050 2596 Germany
International dial-in numbers: https://tu-berlin.zoom.us/u/cbPtvrMKGb
Join meeting from your SIP
sip:2668302561.778899(at)fr.zmeu.us

You will wait in a digital waiting room until a host invites you to a preliminary meeting room to briefly discuss your concern with you before sending you to a further room to speak with an academic advisor if needed.

There may be short waiting times in case of high demand, both in the waiting room and in the preliminary room. We will do our best to keep the waiting time as short as possible.

Further contacts

Academic Advising’s online office hours are offered as normal. It is also possible to contact Psychological Counseling. Student Mobility and International Students can be contacted via email addresses and by phone. You can find more information about studying abroad on the website and in the ISIS course “International Week 2021”.

All certifications, including certifications of enrollment, are available again via tuPORT as normal.

• Certification of online study at TU Berlin in summer semester 2021 for presentation to a health insurer
• Certification of in-person study at TU Berlin in summer semester 2021 for presentation to a public authority and the German federal police for the purpose of (re-)entering the German Federal Republic
• Certification of changes to the standard period of study as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic

For certifications issued by the Examination Office, please see the FAQ - Examinations.

For newly enrolled students at TU Berlin

Effectively immediately, you can once again request your student ID (campus card) including the Semesterticket (VBB ticket ABC) and upload a photo for your student ID when activating your IT account. To avoid error messages or delays while printing your student ID card, please pay close attention to photo requirements in tuPORT. You will receive an email from us with further information once your student ID incl. the VBB ticket ABC is ready to bepicked up from the University.

Temporary Transportation Pass

If your student ID incl. the VBB ticket ABC is not ready for collection by 1 October 2021 (start of your ticket's validity), you have the option of a temporary transportation pass. Please print out the form for the temporary transportation pass (Vorläufige Fahrtberechtigung) in tuPORT.

In order for the form to be valid, you require an additional sticker. You must collect this sticker from the University. Due to the measures in place to prevent the spread of the coronavirus, please, arrange an appointment in advance. Don't forget to bring your printed temporary transportation pass on the day of your appointment.

Have you lost your student ID?

TU Berlin students who have lost their current student ID also have the option of the temporary transportation pass. This pass is valid for four weeks. Due to the impacts of a cyberattack on the University’s IT Systems, it is currently not possible to re-issue student IDs. We will inform you once this changes.

Is your student ID damaged or not working?

The same rules as above apply. It is currently not possible to issue you a replacement ID. However, you can pick up the sticker for a temporary transportation pass at the University.

Please note: Students with a current student ID do not need the sticker for the temporary transportation pass. Your VBB ticket will be automatically updated after you pay the re-registration fee. You do not need to book a collection appointment.

Picking up your Student ID and temporary transportation pass

Student IDs for newly enrolled students as well as the temporary transportation pass sticker can be collected at the following times by appointment:

• Session 1: 22 September to 1 October 2021, each Monday to Friday from 10:00 to 14:00;
• Session 2: 4 October to 5 November 2021, each Monday to Friday from 09:00 to 15:00

Pick-up location: TU Berlin, Main Building, coatroom opposite the Audimax, Straße des 17. Juni 135, 10623 Berlin

You will receive an electronic admission ticket after registration and show it at the entrance.

Here you can find the link for making an appointment.

You can re-register for winter semester 2021/2022 as of beginning of August. The deadline for re-registering has been put back to 31 August 2021. For re-registrations after 14 September 2021, a late fee of 19,94 € will be charged.

Please also check your tuPORT account for further information about your re-registration, including your personalized reference for transferring your semester fee as well as the amount you are required to pay. To find out more about re-registering, go to https://www.tu.berlin/en/go197/

One-time goodwill arrangement: Students who are provisionally enrolled in their second degree semester in summer semester 2021 can submit one additional (second) request for master’s enrollment under reserve of revocation together with the reason for their request. Your explanation must thoroughly and clearly state why you are unable to submit the necessary proof. Please include any supporting documents together with your request and explanation. This goodwill arrangement only applies to re-registration for winter semester 2021/22.

You must upload proof of your degree with your re-registration (possible in August) for the winter semester 2021/22 to your TUB account (tuPORT). Click here for further information.

Note for applicants for a Master's program who would like to apply with the TU's own Bachelor's degree in physics: Please read the information on this page.

We are still deciding on the procedure for this. We will inform you about how to register in good time via our website. Thank you for your patience.

If you would like to attend classes as a guest auditor, please complete the application for guest auditors and send this by email to the instructor of the class you wish to attend requesting their agreement. Once you have obtained agreement, you should send this together with your application to the dean’s office of the relevant faculty for their approval. You can find contact details below. Then contact your instructor again by email with the dean’s approval so you can be officially admitted to the (online) course. You are not currently required to provide proof of payment of the fee for guest auditors.

We regret that due to the current situation it is not possible to register as a visiting student as normal. If you would like to take part in a course as a visiting student in summer semester 2021, please complete the application for visiting students and send this by email to the instructor of the class you wish to attend requesting their agreement. Once you have obtained agreement, you should send this together with your application to the dean’s office of the relevant faculty for their approval. You can find contact details below. Then contact your instructor again by email with the dean’s approval so you can be officially admitted to the (online) course. Please ask your instructor or the Examination Office if you are interested in obtaining credit points and taking exams.

Contact details for faculties:

• Faculty I - Humanities
• Faculty II - Mathematics and Natural Sciences
• Faculty III - Process Sciences
• Faculty IV - Electrical Engineering and Computer Science
• Faculty V - Mechanical Engineering and Transport Systems
• Faculty VI - Planning Building Environment
• Faculty VII - Economics and Management

All applications and requests can now be submitted via tuPORT and will be processed as before. However, processing times may be longer than usual, as staff in the Office of Student Affairs only have restricted access to SAP. Please take note of deadlines.

It is once again possible to request a refund of fees in tuPORT. Please be sure to read the information regarding refunds for fees and other contributions.

Effective immediately, all TU Berlin staff, including instructors, can use Matrix@innoCampus, a real-time communication tool which was previously only available to students. Users can use the tool to send files of up to 20MB or invite other users from outside of the University. Matrix also allows students and teachers to easily and quickly communicate with each other. TU Berlin is currently reviewing whether Matrix can be integrated into ISIS. Teachers are still recommended to set up an ISIS course.

Statutory health insurers have been informed of all enrollments for summer semester 2021. However, due to the inability to access the student database, we are unable to provide health insurers with information about individual students. Should a health insurer request further information, they will be informed of the current situation at the University.

For now and until such time as ISIS is able to send emails again, you will be informed of new contributions to forums via the ISIS messaging system (bell symbol top right next to your name).

Attention: On 9 September 2021, Campus Management (ZECM) will be switching the authentication service used for IT services. After this point, all of TU Berlin's IT services will require an updated password, created after 23 June 2021 at https://pw-neu.tu-berlin.de in accordance with the University password requirements.

This affects services such as MOSES/ISIS, eduroam WLAN, tuPORT, tubCloud, VPN, as well as Zoom and Webex.

Further information

The Examination Office can be contacted again by email. Beginning 25.10.2021, we will be offering office hours via Webex on Tuesdays and Thursdays from 10 to 12:00.  You can find the access link on the Examination Office website.

It is also possible to access POS documents again (certifications, graduation documents, verifications, etc.). Please provide your name, matriculation number, degree program and the type of degree you are studying for (bachelor’s, master’s, etc.) when submitting an inquiry.

It is also possible for examination boards, examiners, and academic chairs to submit applications and requests, grade lists, reports, etc. for further processing via email.

Now that tuPORT is accessible again, students in the Physics and Historical Urban Studies degree programs can create transcripts of records using the self-service option.

Students in degree programs managed in HIPOS (all programs except Physics and Historical Urban Studies) should register for exams in MTS. Exam registrations in MTS are binding. (For details, see How can examiners manage exam registrations and recording grades in Moses?)

In order to avoid the use of two systems and resulting questions or confusion, exam registration will not transfer to QISPOS during the semester.

Examiners who primarily offer elective modules can use the following forms of examination registration. Students must be informed of how to register at the start of the course. All registrations submitted by students meeting these requirements are binding.

• Registration by submitting a completed registration form (email, upload to ISIS) to the examiners The registration form is available on the Examination Office website.
• Registration by participation
• Other forms of recording such as lists (math service, e.g. MOSES)

You may cancel your registration no later than three days before the exam or one day before the first component of the portfolio assessment. You do not have to provide a reason. You can either directly inform the examiner or de-register electronically.

Once the registration deadline has passed, you can withdraw up to one day before the exam. If you need to withdraw on the day of the exam, inform your examiner immediately. You must provide the reason for your withdrawal.  You must also mail the withdrawal form including proof of reason to your exam team in the Examination Office.

If you take part in an examination, your result is binding. Examinations with a passing grade may not be taken again.

Certifications and pre-certifications can be issued. Further information is available at https://www.tu.berlin/go2963/.

Yes, the Examination Office is able to access documents and the POS database again. This makes it possible to verify students' status and issue transcripts of records and other certifications.

Effective 8 November 2021, students and examiners can once again access the QISPOS portal. This means that students can now access their transcripts of records themselves. Further information is available on the Examination Office website.

Students in the SAP pilot degree programs in Physics and Historical Urban Studies can download transcripts of records via tuPORT using the self-service option.

Please note that not all grades have been posted yet.

Following the reintroduction of tuPORT, grades can be posted again (by instructors) for the SAP pilot degree programs in Physics and Historical Urban Studies.

Effective 8 November 2021, students and examiners can once again access the QISPOS portal. This means that examiners can now import grades. Further information is available on the Examination Office website.

Examination boards can once again be contacted and are processing applications.

Yes, the Examination Office can issue degree documents (certificate, official diploma, diploma supplement in German and English). We will mail any complete documents to students who have provided their current address. We are not yet able to translate documents into English.

Verifications are possible again. However, we cannot issue ECTS rankings yet.

To help examiners more efficiently organize exams during the upcoming examination period, the InnoCampus team has developed a new tool allowing you to manage exam registrations and record grades directly in Moses. This solution enables you to:

• Create exam dates as well as define a registration period
• Include information about the exam format and location
• Allow registration with or without reservation (for example if there are prerequisites) and approve provisional registrations
• Directly register students even after the registration deadline has passed
• Record grades and generate grade lists in Excel format to send to the Examination Office
• Manage portfolio components. If a student withdraws from an exam due to illness, the exam registration and recorded performance continue to apply and it is possible to continue the exam the following semester.

After signing into Moses (https://moseskonto.tu-berlin.de/), you can find the new examination management function in the menu item MTS under Modulprüfungen or by using the following direct link: https://moseskonto.tu-berlin.de/moses/modultransfersystem/modulpruefungen/index.html

Further information as well as step-by-step instructions can be found on our website at: www.innocampus.tu-berlin.de/ar/service/pruefungsanmeldung

If you have technical questions about creating an exam or about exam registrations, please send an email to the MTS team: mts(at)innocampus.tu-berlin.de

Current information from the TU Berlin's faculties can be found on the following web pages:

• Faculty I - Humanities
• Faculty II - Mathematics and Natural Sciences
• Faculty III - Process Sciences
• Faculty IV - Electrical Engineering and Computer Science
• Faculty V - Mechanical Engineering and Transport Systems
• Faculty VI - Planning Building Environment
• Faculty VII - Economics and Management

FIBU will continue to process invoices as usual for the time being, even after limited access to SAP is available again. Please also continue to submit invoices as usual. All new invoices will be directly recorded, booked, and processed in SAP. FIBU will retroactively record all invoices in SAP received between 30 April and 9 July 2021.

It will not be possible to have a comprehensive overview of all payments until the roughly 10,000 invoices from the last months have been successfully recorded in SAP. This means that the booking must be processed and not prevented due to insufficient funds, closed PSP elements, etc. We expect this process to be completed by mid-November, except for a few individual cases.

We kindly ask for your continued patience and understanding.

Section III PW is once again able to approve funding for unbudgeted areas such as the Central University Administration, the central institutes or the University Library as well as for central funding and special funding. We can only offer a very restricted service for evaluating the duties associated with a position, as this team is currently unstaffed.

The research department (Department V) can now in most cases be contacted by telephone and email. The process of restoring laptops for Central University Administration staff working from home as well as computers in offices on campus has now begun. However, access to the University’s IT systems remains heavily restricted following the cyberattack.

Procedures for extending staffing contracts continue to have highest priority.

Staff in the research department are still mainly working from home and are not able to check incoming post on a regular basis.

As a consequence of the restrictions arising from the coronavirus, staff are taking it in turns to be present on campus to deal with incoming post. As such, agreements and contracts can also be submitted for checking. You can make an appointment by phone to collect contracts and agreements once they have been checked.

The research department will contact the relevant funding organizations and external partners to request extensions for any financial reports due in the near future.
 

Electronic project announcements (ePA) are currently not possible. For procedures which absolutely require an ePA (e.g. employer certificates for temporary positions for principal investigators funded by the DFG, etc.), please contact the relevant person in the Research Department. Please also note that as ePAs form the basis for setting up projects in the SAP system, project managers will have to retroactively create these once the systems are up again.

• Advising and checking applications to see that they meet funding organizations‘ requirements in terms of content and structure
• Searching for funding organizations, workshops, and advising on developing joint projects
• Seed financing (other than for new staff)
• Support for Collaborative Research Center and FOR joint projects and applications to the Einstein Foundation Berlin, checking sub-agreements for German Research Foundation joint projects and Einstein Foundation Berlin projects
• Processing applications (EXIST: application for grants on an expenditure basis, signing of statement of facts relevant to subsidies)
• Receipt of grant notifications (acknowledgement of receipt, waiver of right to appeal and expert online application)
• Processing new proposals (ePAs must be submitted later)
• Contractual coordination with V D for applications (cooperation agreements, consortium agreements, etc.)
• Scholarship extensions

Our legal experts offer general advising and are able to check and negotiate new contracts submitted by post or email. Unfortunately, we still do not have access to the servers required to provide information about the status of negotiations for contracts or for projects in general. We are also unable to access TU templates and sample contracts, and consequently can only offer a very restricted service for drawing up new contracts. Existing contract negotiations have been resumed, but with delays as we cannot access the necessary documents and have to request updated information from the contract partners.

In addition to general advising, Team 1 (management of orders, cooperations, services) is able to conduct preliminary checks for contracts, check proposals (including costs, contractual general contract conditions, etc.) and calculations (without access to the list of overhead costs), and perform project settlements. Invoices can be created manually (only for fixed prices and not for settlements on the basis of actual costs), which can also be uploaded to external invoice portals. Staffing procedures (extensions and new hires, research allowances, bonuses, etc.) can be processed manually, but only in agreement with and on the basis of assurances from the respective academic chair that there are sufficient funds in the project. The residual account can be used to provide an interim solution for projects that have not yet been set up.

Restricted access to SAP now means that it is possible to set up, extend and provide output types for projects for bookings of invoices and personnel.

Without access to ePA and reporting, it is still not possible to call up funds on the basis of actual costs, process staffing inquiries for projects, access accounts, or provide information about current projects.

Team 2 (IP rights and technology transfer) is able to receive and process invention disclosures as well as offer general advising on intellectual property. The central contact address for the Center for Intellectual Property (email: kontakt(at)zfge.tu-berlin.de) can be reached again and is checked on a regular basis to ensure that all services are provided. It is also possible to communicate with patent lawyers again.

We are unable to provide information on current projects, process staff inquiries for invention disclosures, or check deadlines, as these services require access to the servers and databases, particularly Patricia. Instead, we need to liaise with the representing law firms to answer inquiries and therefore kindly request your patience. It is also not possible make payments to inventors, as invoices cannot be issued to licensees or patent purchasers from the Patricia database.

New ProTUTec applications are being processed again.

Contract negotiations have now resumed, but with delays as we do not have access to the necessary documents/technical information regarding inventions and may need to request information regarding the status of negotiations from negotiation partners.

• Submitting project applications
• Support with applications, relating to eligibility criteria and content
• Funding advice incl. budget advice (using funding for unfilled positions for positions which are already filled ) and budget checks
• Preparation for recruitment, including job releases
• Obtaining institutional signatures for funding applications
• Contract preparations and letters of support
• Concluding contracts with the EU (Declaration of Honour, Accession Form) etc.

The EU Office will monitor all deadlines regarding reporting and contract signatures and extend deadlines as required.

• Management of internal research funding
• Advising and checking of applications in terms of financial calculations and personnel law
• Manual processing of staffing decisions with DFG business reference available
• General approvals for positions on paper (i.e. with risk assumed by academic chair); DFG positions only with DFG references; a confirmation of available funds is also required for DFG joint projects
• Lump-sum call up of funds (after coordination with funding organization); does not apply to DFG joint projects; "DFG Individual Research Grants" funding line: first call up of funds for new projects (without recording in the outgoing invoice tool) as well as call up of funds for existing projects with a cash position from December 2020
• Payment requests on paper, unless project finances are to be reviewed prior to arrangement
• Application review where no positions have been filled as yet

• We still have no access to ePA and reporting and it is thus not possible to make settlements or call up funds on the basis of actual costs (precise call up of funds)
• Processing staffing inquiries for projects
• Access to accounts
• Setting up projects using ePA
• Approval for specific positions
• Specific call up of funds
• Proof of use of funds vis-à-vis the funding organizations
• Transfers of overhead funds
• Adjusting entries
• Issuing receipts for donations
• All information to academic chairs, faculties, the Executive Board or funding organizations regarding third-party funding management
• Release of funds for DFG joint projects
• Project closures/repayments after project completion
• Information for the Executive Board regarding the amount of third-party funding used by an academic chair
• Information about third-party funding statistics (Team V)
• All processes that require access to work results, templates, etc. from before 30 April 2021

Yes, salary payments continue to be made as usual.

As a result of the cyberattack, salary payments for May and June 2021 were primarily made under reserve on the basis of the payments for April 2021. New employees will receive payment on account. Any overpayments or insufficient payments for the months of May and June have been rectified. As a result of these corrections, such as for overpayment of the coronavirus flat-rate payment in May, salary payments for the month of June were less.

In cases of urgent need (e.g. apartment search, parental allowance), the University can issue payroll slips.

Due to the restricted availability of IT services, Human Resources is only able to work on a very limited basis. Until further notice, HR is only processing individual staffing procedures (emergency procedures including contract renewals effective 1 August 2021, hiring procedures, termination of employment).  This applies to all status groups.

Faculty administrations and human resources managers (II T) are to agree a prioritized list of procedures. For this reason, we ask that you continue to send your staffing requests to the head of your faculty administration.

HR will only undertake those procedures which are complete (including release of funds, approval of the Main Women’s Representative and Office of Staff with Disabilities) and which are necessary to ensure individuals’ livelihoods (particularly contract renewals scheduled for 1 August 2021) or to appoint persons to key roles in the respective faculty.  The heads of the faculty administrations and human resources managers should discuss whether the necessary procedure can be completed.

Please refrain from directly sending requests from the academic chairs to Human Resources. Please send them to the head of your faculty administration. Any requests sent directly to the HR teams will be returned to the academic chairs.

HR is currently unable to process new hire requests and other staffing procedures new hire and other personnel requests. Please refrain from sending any related documents until further notice. The department is currently processing all existing requests which do not require IT services. Once the University’s IT systems have been restored, you may submit new requests as usual. We also kindly ask you not to make inquiries via WebEx Teams, as not all our staff are able to access this tool. In addition, it is not possible to access SAP data needed to respond to inquiries.

Yes, it is still possible to process job postings. Due to additional necessary steps, this may take longer than usual. Hiring, re-assignment, or similar procedures resulting from a job posting are to be prioritized in accordance with the information provided under individual staffing procedures.

Please adjust the prospective date of hire in the job posting accordingly to take account of the current situation.

Job postings for student assistants can be published again. Please be aware, however, that processing times are currently longer than usual. Requests for job postings can only be submitted as hard copies. We will inform you as soon as it is possible to submit these in digital format again.

An email service is operating again at TU Berlin starting 14 May 2021. This means that applications can now be sent to the email addresses published in job postings.

The Staff Council can be contacted again by telephone as well as by email at personalrat(at)tu-berlin.de. Meetings are taking place on a weekly basis to decide on all issues submitted by Department II.  Please note that working capacity is restricted by the current situation.

The Staff Council for Student Assistants continues to meet weekly and is able to take decisions affecting staff issues. You can contact the Staff Council for Student Assistants as follows:

• By telephone: Wednesdays: office 9-12:00 at +49 (0)30 31421724; committee 15-17:00  at +49 (0)152 56705941 and Thursdays: office 9-12:00 at +49 (0)30 31421724; committee 16-18:00 at +49 (0)152-56705940
• Email: prsb(at)tutpers.tu-berlin.de
• Messenger: via WebEx Teams "PRSB Infochannel" (Please note: You may only be added to the group after receiving explicit permission by email, as all participants may be seen by all group members)

Despite our best efforts to maintain operations, you may experience restrictions as it has not yet been possible to restore the entire IT system.

Invoices related to building management and construction work are being processed manually and will be recorded in the IT systems retroactively.

Building measures which are organized externally remain unaffected: These include projects of the State of Berlin (Math, IMoS, TC, and to a certain extent, CIF).

Construction work that has already begun and is under the direction of TU Berlin will continue on a conditional basis depending on capacity and the documents available. We are making every effort to carry on with work as far as possible.

We are currently only able to work on new requests to a limited extent. This also applies to conversion work, supplementary measures and measures undertaken in connection with new professorial appointments, as well as aesthetic repairs.

Priority will be given to construction work required to maintain the operational capacity of buildings. All other construction measures and projects have secondary priority.

Services related to rental and usage contracts are very limited and are only offered if paper files are available.

Requests for key rights can be processed again. It is only possible to apply by email schliessanlagen(at)facilities.tu-berlin.de. New key rights as well as renewals or changes should be requested as normal via your supervisor or staff member with responsibility for keys. The backlog of existing requests will be cleared before new requests are processed. We kindly ask you not to contact us by phone regarding the status of your request. 

Please only come to our office in person if strictly necessary. Our office hours (Mondays to Thursdays from 8:00 until 13:00) are only for collecting/returning keys and repairs. Renewals of key rights or changes to rights can only be performed via the terminals. For old keys, the Key Services team will provide new keys with the relevant renewals or changes.

Please observe the hygiene regulations when visiting our office.

Mail is distributed as usual.

Cleaning services and waste removal continue as usual.

Security services are operating without restrictions.

Effective 8 November 2021, the service mailbox is once again available for use. Please report any faults to the service mailbox only. Due to limited resources in Department IV, please refrain from submitting requests for new construction measures/renovations, projects, etc. These will be only be processed once all faults have been resolved.

Please call the emergency report line to report an accident or urgent fault: +49 (0)30 314-76000 or send an email to serviceleitstelle(at)facilities.tu-berlin.de.

Translation Services continues to be available by email at uebersetzung(at)international.tu-berlin.de.

Yes, Translation Services continues to accept translation requests. Texts relating to the attack on TU Berlin’s IT systems as well as the coronavirus pandemic will be prioritized. Please note, that we are unable to commit to requested deadlines for non-priority texts and will deliver your text as soon as possible.

What about web relaunch texts?

Translations for web relaunch texts will not be prioritized. In addition, as a result of the IT attack, we are currently unable to access the software needed to translate the XML files exported from TYPO3.

Access to the "old" TYPO3 system has been available again since 1 November 2021. You can access the application via the TU Portal ("Login" at the top of the TU website) in the "IT Services" area of the portal's home page.

Please note that you must have been assigned the editor's role before the cyberattack. It is not currently possible to assign rights to new users as this requires the Campus Management role administration tool which is currently under construction.

Access to the "new" TYPO3 system is possible under the following conditions:

• The website in the new TYPO3 system has already been created.
• You already have the necessary TYPO3 role.
• You are allowed to use your PC/laptop (see "Can I turn on my computer/laptop?") and it has an IP address of TU Berlin. This can be achieved by one of the following methods:
  • Your computer is connected to the campus internet network via LAN cable (only available on campus/in your office).
  • Your computer is connected to the campus internet network via eduroam (wifi) (only available on the campus of TU Berlin).
  • Your computer is connected to the campus internet network via VPN (while working remotely/from home).

You can continue to submit questions about the new TYPO3 system to the relaunch support team.

The Congeno event management system has been available again since 21 September 2021.

Please note that you must have been assigned the Congeno role before the cyberattack. It is not currently possible to assign rights to new users as this requires the Campus Management role administration tool which is currently under construction.

Eyebase, the media management program, has been available again since 16 November 2021. This includes the ability to import files from eyebase to TYPO3.

Please note that you must have been assigned the eyebase role before the cyberattack. It is not currently possible to assign rights to new users as this requires the Campus Management role administration tool which is currently under construction.

In its session held on 3 June 2021, the Central Election Committee took the decision to cancel the committee elections scheduled for June 2021 pursuant to Section 18a of the Election Regulations.

This decision was taken after the committee determined that it would not be possible to conduct committee elections (Academic Senate, Extended Academic Senate, Board of Trustees, faculty boards, women’s advisory councils, SETUB), byelections for the institute councils, elections for the women’s representatives in the Central University Administration, as well as elections for the women’s representative and deputy women’s representative in Campus Management in light of the impact of the IT attack on the University in April.

Decision of the Central Election Committee from 3 June 2021 including a detailed explanation of the decision

Elections for the Student Parliament will still be held.
Postal ballots can be requested using the following link: https://briefwahl.innocampus.tu-berlin.de/