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FAQs: Cyber-attack on Heilbronn University

Status: 13th  April 2023

Information for all University members

What happened?

Heilbronn University of Applied Sciences is the target of a cyber-attack. The University's IT department noticed unusual activity on the network. An initial precautionary measure was to take the University offline. 

A full statement on the situation can only be made once the investigation of the Cyber-Security Agency Baden-Württemberg and the State Criminal Investigation Office (Landeskriminalamt) has been completed.

New passwords for all university members have recently been introduced. With this password, some university systems can be accessed again

In the months since the cyber attack on the university on 29 October, the University Information Centre (HIZ) has been working with active support from the faculties and administration to set up a new IT infrastructure for the university. 

The network architecture has been completely redesigned.
As of next Monday, March 13,  the commissioning of the new IT-infrastructure with the allocation of new access data will begin. 

Once the access data has been distributed, systems will gradually be moved: the plan is that you will then be able to access ILIAS, S-Plan and e-mail from the internet again in the course of March.

You will find more information on the allocation of your new access data here.

administration staff, staff at the faculties and lecturers cannot be contacted via email but can be reached by telephone and post.  Contact via
Webex is also possible.

Members of the HHN can access the library services via VPN again. Most publishers already recognise the new VPN as a campus network and so access to e-books and e-journals is possible again. Some publishers are still in the changeover phase, so if individual e-media are not yet available, we ask for your patience.

You can find an overview of how to access the university's various systems, including library services, here.

Update 04.11.2022: The attackers have attempted to gain access to login data. Whether they succeeded and to what extent cannot currently be confirmed. No definite statement concerning the intention of the attack can be made at present.

We strongly recommend that you now change passwords of accounts, systems, logins, etc. that you use outside of the HHN as a preventative measure - especially if they are identical or similar to passwords used at HHN.

Passwords for university accounts were hashed (conversion of the password into an unintelligible series of numbers and letters), so that the reading of plaintext passwords by attackers is essentially blocked. Password hashing thus provides a high level of protection against the unauthorised reading of passwords.

The HHN is continuing to work closely with the investigating authorities, IT security advisors, IT forensic experts etc. The incident is being investigated intensively and security measures are being implemented immediately. We will keep you informed and up-to-date on further steps via our website. Information given is always in coordination with the investigating authorities.

The Data Protection Office and our Data Protection Officer are available for any questions you may have. However, please understand that we are not yet able to provide you with any information concerning individual personal data and the cyber-attack.

Update 06.12.22: Information for Partner Universities

Nominated incoming students and the partner universities have been informed about the new application process. The deadline is extended until 15th December 2022.

If you have any questions about this please contact us via our regular e-mail address at the International Office: io-incomings@hs-heilbronn.de

You can reach us by telephone: 

  • Ms. Hannelore Lang (faculty WV) 
    0049 7131 504 263 
  • Ms. Jane Schäfer (faculty IB)
    0049 7131 504 6836 
  • Ms. Kathrin Koç (faculty IT, MV, TW, TP and T1) 
    0049 7131 504 264 

Due to the cyber attack, we have been offline since Friday, 28th October. All nominations / emails sent to us since this date have not been received or read. 
As soon as we know when we will be back online, we will update this information here. We will also inform you as soon as possible about necessary changes in the nomination procedure and confirmed nomination deadline extension. 

If you’ve already received confirmation of your nomination, please be aware that we cannot check already uploaded documents. Our application portal cannot be accessed at the moment, so students cannot start or continue with their applications. As soon as this changes, we will let you know. 

Information for students

At the moment, the timetables/schedules are not yet accessible from outside. Therefore, the timetables for the first week of the summer semester 2023 will gradually be made available online on the programme pages.

You can call up the current status of the timetables on site in the university network. 

Please note that changes may be made at short notice.

For the summer semester 2023 you can generate your Certificate of Study/Enrolment/matriculation certificate (German / English) as well as the BAföG certificate according to § 9 yourself with a verification code on the following website:
 
https://hhn.hispro.de/verify  

You will receive your personal verification codes by e-mail - please also check the spam folder of your e-mail inbox. Notification will be sent once a week to all re-registered students and those in leave of absence . Please note that it may take 10 to a maximum of 14 days after the semester fee has been transferred for the fee to be booked in the system.

Important notice: Please save these certificates so that you can still access them at a later date. 

Students newly enrolled for the summer semester 2023 can access the matriculation and BAföG certificates via their applicant account.

You can apply for your de-registration verbally or by e-mail at the Examination Office (Prüfungsamt). The colleague responsible for your degree programme will accept the application and initiate the next steps.

Due to the hacker attack, it is unfortunately not possible for students to currently access the grade management system (POS) as usual and view exams grades there.

We are working hard to ensure that online access to the grade management system will be possible again for students as of mid-March. Whether and when this will definitely be possible is still uncertain.

Until then, we have to live with a temporary solution. We have examined all possible ways to give notification of grades, but only postal dispatch is currently viable. You will be notified of grades by letter as of the beginning of March. Each exam participant will receive a letter with individual examination results.


The examination office is now able to compile certificates relating to grades (current grade overview, Transcript of Records)  again. If necessary, please contact your responsible clerk in the Examination Office (Prüfungsamt).

Please notice, that there may be delays in processing due to the Christmas season.

Exam registration is completed now. In order to have an overview of your specified exams, please click on the following link:

https://www.hs-heilbronn.de/de/studentische-prozesse

On the page you find a PDF document (orange button) displaying all exam registrations. Using the search function, you can look for your student ID number and view your registrations.

Selbstverständlich müssen Sie mit keinerlei negativen Auswirkungen auf Ihre Studienleistung rechnen. Grundsätzlich sollten anfallende Studienleistungen weiterhin bearbeitet werden. Für Weg und Zeitpunkt der Abgabe kontaktieren Sie bitte Ihre*n Dozent*in.

Vorlesungen in Präsenz finden weiterhin normal statt. Auch steht das Onlinetool Webex zur Verfügung.  

“Lernfristen” (e.g. basic maths test / "Mathe-Grundlagentest") can be extended as an exception if, for example, it can be proven that the necessary materials cannot be accessed. Please consult your lecturer.

In Heilbronn, you can direct your queries via 07131/504-6784.

Office hours: Tuesday and Wednesday from 8am to 4pm and Thursday and Friday from 8am to 12pm.

Information for our Incoming Students Winter Semester 2022/2023

Our Office is open as follows: 

Mondays
Wednesdays
Thursdays
Fridays  

9:00-12:00,  13:00-16:00

 8:00-12:30  

8:00-12:30 

8:00-12:30 

office S2.20 

office S2.22 

office S2.22 

office S2.20 


You can reach us by telephone if you cannot meet us personally: 

  • Ms. Hannelore Lang (faculty WV) 
    07131 504 263
  • Ms. Jane Schäfer (faculty IB)
    07131 504 6836
  • Ms. Kathrin Koç (faculty IT, MV, TW, TP and T1) 
    07131 504 264 

Further Information e.g. for staff members and a contact form you will find on the German FAQ-page here.

News archive

Warndreieck mit Ausrufezeichen vor 0en und 1en

HHN confirms cyber-attack

02.11.2022: Heilbronn University announces that analysis and evaluation show first indications of a criminal cyber-attack. Joint investigations with the Cyber-Security Agency Baden-Württemberg and the State Criminal Investigation Office (Landeskriminalamt) are ongoing. 

Internal and external experts are currently working hard on analysing digital tracks and further evaluating them. A full statement on the attack can only be made once investigations have been completed. 

The University currently has only limited reachability. E-mail communication and digital services operated within the university network are affected. Webex is available for communication and online events. 

Students unable to meet deadlines as a result of the technical problems will not face any negative effects on their studies. 

An FAQ list with the most important questions for you is currently being compiled. We will continue to keep everyone up to date and provide information via our website and social media channels. 

A team of experts is doing its utmost to find solutions for the HHN as quickly as possible. Experience shows that it will take several more weeks to make our systems available again; normality can be expected in a few months.

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