IT Outage

Thursday, October 22, 2:50 p.m.

At the University Service Center (HSZ) in Reutlingen, numerous staff members are working around the clock to resolve the issue. For the latest information, visit hsz-offline.de/faq.

At RWU as well, a crisis response team has been working since the start of the IT outage to develop alternative solutions for particularly urgent processes.

What solutions are already in place?

  • Access to room and class schedules has been restored on short notice.
  • An alternative process has been established and communicated for ongoing international admissions procedures.
  • Payments of honoraria to adjunct instructors and scholarships have been made possible.

What restrictions remain in place?

  • Changes to employment contracts and the registration of new employees are currently not possible.
  • Invoices still cannot be paid. For this reason, only time-sensitive purchases may be made. Work is underway on a temporary solution for individual transactions.
  • Reimbursement of out-of-pocket expenses and the settlement of travel expenses are also currently not possible.

What is currently being worked on?

Alternative solutions are being reviewed and developed for other key processes. The focus is particularly on:

  • exam registration for the current 2026/2027 winter semester
  • applications for the 2027 summer semester, which is scheduled to begin on December 15

How and where will updates be communicated?

The affected groups will receive updates via email. At the same time, this information will be available here on the RWU website, where an FAQ section will also be created in the coming days to make it easier to find information on the various topics and groups of people.

How long will the IT outage last?

A reliable forecast is not currently possible. There is not yet sufficient information available on this matter. However, based on comparable incidents, it must be expected that the disruptions could last for several more weeks.

 

Friday, October 16, 7:10 a.m.

Update for Students: Course Registration and Theses

The registration period for courses via the LSF normally ends today, Friday, October 16. However, due to the current IT outage, it is not currently possible to register for courses via the LSF.

Registration Directly with Instructors

If students still wish to register for courses, they should contact the respective instructors directly during the next class sessions.

Mailing Lists, Moodle

Until they have successfully registered in the LSF, students who have registered in person will not be added to the LSF mailing list for the relevant courses and will therefore not receive course-related notifications.

After in-person registration, instructors can provide the necessary information via Moodle or by other means.

Currently, instructors also have no way to register students for a course in the LSF. As soon as the LSF is operational again, the possibility of establishing a retroactive registration period will be reviewed.

Registration for Theses

Registration for theses is once again possible via the QM Engine.

 

Thursday, October 15, 3:25 p.m.

Update: HSZ Provides Information via FAQ Page

The University Service Center (HSZ) is currently providing updates via the temporary website hsz-offline.de. An FAQ list has now been added to this page, offering clear information on the current situation:

https://hsz-offline.de/faq

 

Wednesday, October 14, 9:00 a.m.

Update for Students: Transcripts, Exam Scheduling, Thesis Registration

Due to the cyberattack on the Baden-Württemberg University Service Center, restrictions on central services for academic studies and teaching continue. Currently, a prolonged technical outage of our central campus management system, myCampus, is expected. As a result, access to LSF is also limited, and most support processes in the QM Engine are unavailable.

Certificates, Transcripts, and Academic Records

Specifically, this means, among other things, that the Student Affairs Office cannot issue enrollment certificates, transcripts, diplomas, or certificates until further notice. A general letter was sent to RWU students via email (October 14) that can be submitted to relevant agencies, such as the Bafög Office, scholarship providers, the Foreigners’ Registration Office, or employers during application processes.

In particular, Student Services is currently unable to issue letters regarding failed second or third attempts at exams or to process withdrawals from the university.

In urgent cases, Student Services can be reached during regular office hours.

Exam Scheduling

With regard to exam scheduling, delays are to be expected. The exam registration period scheduled for October 26 through November 13, 2026, will be postponed. Further information on this matter will be provided shortly.

Thesis Registration Process

The thesis registration process in the QM-Engine is currently being revised and is expected to be available again shortly.

Class Schedules

As previously communicated, class schedules are available via the LSF and the RWU app (see below).

 

Tuesday, October 13, 9:10 a.m.

LSF mailing lists are working again

The email distribution lists for LSF events following the format lsf-veranstaltung-xxxx-202xx@lists.hs-weingarten.de can be used again.

 

Tuesday, October 13, 7:49 a.m.

Changes to the Application Process for English-Language Degree Programs and Extension of the Application Deadline

The application period for English-language bachelor’s degree programs for the upcoming summer semester of 2027 is currently underway. However, due to a system outage, the application portal is currently unavailable. It is still possible to apply for the English-language degree programs.

To do so, however, the application process has had to be temporarily adjusted. In addition, the application deadline has been extended to November 15.

Further information: Applications for English-language degree programs

 

Monday, October 12, 3:30 p.m.

Online Information Session on Wednesday, October 14

The cyberattack on the Baden-Württemberg Higher Education Service Center (HSZ-BW) last Wednesday is also affecting RWU. RWU will inform its employees about the current situation and next steps in an

online information session
on Wednesday, October 14, 2026, at 1:15 p.m.
(The link to the Big Blue Button session was emailed to all employees)

The information session will cover the following points:

  • What is known so far?
  • Which systems are affected?
  • What measures have been and are being taken?
  • How can we deal with the restrictions?
  • How will we be informed about new developments?
  • Questions

 

Friday, October 9, 3:30 p.m.

Update on the HSZ-BW website

"On the evening of October 7, 2026, the HSZ-BW IT department detected a cyberattack on the HSZ-BW. All necessary measures were taken immediately to mitigate the consequences of the attack. To this end, all systems were taken offline, the internet connection was disconnected, and the telephone system was deactivated. The relevant investigative authorities and the BW Cybersecurity Agency were notified that same evening.

Since the morning of October 8, 2026, the HSZ-BW crisis management team, led by Prof. Dr. Peter Väterlein, has been working continuously to investigate and resolve the incident. The investigation has been taken over by the Reutlingen Police Headquarters in cooperation with the Karlsruhe State Attorney General’s Office, Cybercrime Division. The CSBW is supporting the investigation and the HSZ-BW. Internal and external specialists are currently working to resolve the incident.

“We will immediately inform the institutions under our supervision of any significant developments.”

Source: https://hsz-offline.de/

 

Thursday, October 8, 3:00 p.m.

Update: Accessing Class Schedules and Room Assignments

The RWU app’s interface with the LSF is working. This means that class schedules can be viewed via the RWU app, and the schedules displayed in the app are up to date.

 

Thursday, October 8, 11:30 a.m.

IT System Outage

Since this morning, our central services for academic studies and teaching, as well as the class and room scheduling systems (LSF, MyCampus), have been unavailable.

What happened?

The aforementioned services were taken offline as a precautionary measure at the central University Service Center in Reutlingen. Based on current information, there is reasonable suspicion of an IT security incident. The University Service Center supports approximately 65 institutions in the state of Baden-Württemberg. Everyone involved is working around the clock to restore these systems as quickly as possible. However, at this time, we cannot yet say how long the outage will last.

What happens next?

We will provide regular updates via email and on the internal website as soon as there is new information regarding the situation.

Where can I find class schedules?

Information on lectures and classrooms is available in LSF—even without logging in. To access it, please follow these steps:

  1. Courses (top menu)
  2. Program Plans (left-hand menu)
  3. Select degree program and semester (input field in the middle)
  4. Start search
  5. The current semester week is displayed: In this view, you can use the “Plan” setting (top right) to adjust the display format and level of detail.

Link to LSF

Guide RWU Portals

 

This page is updated regularly as new information becomes available.

General Information

Since October 8, our central services for academic studies and teaching, as well as the class and room scheduling systems (LSF, MyCampus), have been unavailable. These services were taken offline as a precautionary measure at the central university service center in Reutlingen following a cyberattack.

We will provide regular updates via email and on the internal website as soon as there is any new information regarding the situation.

In addition, the University Service Center (HSZ) is providing information on the temporary website hsz-offline.de, including an FAQ on the current situation:

https://hsz-offline.de/faq

It is not currently possible to make a reliable forecast. There is not yet sufficient information available on this matter. However, based on comparable incidents, it must be expected that the restrictions could continue for several more weeks.

Information for Students

The RWU app's interface with LSF is working. This means that class schedules can be accessed via the RWU app, and the schedules displayed in the app are up to date.

Information about lectures and rooms is available in LSF—even without logging in. To access this information, please follow these steps:

  1. Courses (top menu)
  2. Program Plans (left-hand menu)
  3. Select degree program and semester (input field in the middle)
  4. Start search
  5. The current semester week is displayed: In this view, you can use the “Plan” setting (top right) to adjust the display format and level of detail.

Link to LSF

The registration period for courses via the LSF normally ended on October 16. However, due to the current IT incident, it is not possible to register for courses via the LSF.

If students still wish to register for courses, they should contact the respective instructors directly during the next class sessions.

In general, the LSF mailing lists for individual degree programs are working again.

However, if you registered for a course individually after the IT outage began, you are not part of this mailing list and will therefore not receive course-related notifications.

Instructors will provide necessary information via Moodle or by other means.

Currently, instructors are also unable to register students for a course in the LSF. As soon as the LSF is up and running again, we will consider setting up a retroactive registration period.

With regard to exam scheduling, delays are to be expected. The exam registration period scheduled for October 26 through November 13, 2026, will be postponed. Further information on this matter will be provided shortly.

The process for registering theses in the QM Engine is available again.

Scholarship payments can now be made again.

Until further notice, the Student Affairs Office is unfortunately unable to issue enrollment certificates, transcripts, diplomas, or other official documents. A general letter was sent via email (October 14) to RWU students, which can be submitted to relevant agencies—such as the Bafög Office, scholarship providers, the Foreigners’ Registration Office, or employers during the application process.

Student Services is currently unable to send out letters regarding failed second and third attempts at exams.

In urgent cases, Student Services can be reached during regular office hours.

Student Services is currently unable to process withdrawals.

In urgent cases, Student Services can be reached during regular office hours.

The application period for the English-language bachelor’s degree programs for the upcoming summer semester of 2027 is currently underway. However, due to a system outage, the application portal is currently unavailable. It is still possible to apply for the English-language degree programs.

To do so, however, the application process had to be temporarily adjusted. In addition, the application deadline has been extended to November 15.

More information: Applications for English-language degree programs

Information for Employees and Faculty

Until they have successfully registered in the LSF, students who have registered in person are not added to the LSF mailing list for the relevant courses and therefore do not receive course-related notifications.

After in-person registration, instructors can provide the necessary information via Moodle or by other means.

Currently, instructors also have no way to register students for a course in the LSF. As soon as the LSF is operational again, the possibility of establishing a retroactive registration period will be reviewed.

You can use the email distribution lists for LSF events, which follow the format lsf-veranstaltung-xxxx-202xx@lists.hs-weingarten.de.

It is once again possible to pay fees to adjunct instructors.

At this time, the university is unable to pay any invoices. For this reason, only urgent purchases may be made. We are working on a temporary solution for individual transactions.

Reimbursement of out-of-pocket expenses and the settlement of travel expenses are not currently possible.