The Helmholtz-Zentrum Berlin (HZB) fell victim to a cyberattack in mid-June, 2023, forcing the institution to shut down its IT systems completely. Among other losses, the scientists could no longer access the HZB-internal collaboration services, posing a serious disruption to their research work. The HZB needed a solution and quickly to enable its scientists to get back to work. The IT managers approached T-Systems and asked them to accelerate the rollout of the “OpenSource Collaboration” solution. As such, the hacking attack became the catalyst for switching over to open source-software.
T-Systems put a package together for us in nearly no time at all and proved to be a reliable, competent partner whose primary objective was to help us – and acted pragmatically to do so.
Cutting-edge research for major challenges. That’s the motto of Helmholtz-Gemeinschaft Deutscher Forschungszentren e. V. (the Helmholtz Association of German Research Centers). Founded in 1995, its 44,000 employees and budget of over 5.8 billion euros (2021) make it one of the world’s largest scientific research organizations. Institutes like the Alfred Wegener Institute in Bremerhaven, DESY in Hamburg, DKFZ in Heidelberg, KIT in Karlsruhe, and the Jülich Research Center all do research under the umbrella of the Helmholtz Association. Many Helmholtz centers are part of the European Open Science Cloud and Germany’s national research data infrastructure.
The Association has a footprint in Berlin with the HZB, the Helmholtz Center for Materials and Energy. At two sites in Berlin, Wannsee and Adlershof, this institution conducts research on technology development, applied physics, and chemistry concerning achieving a climate-neutral society. Research topics include next-generation solar cells, capturing sunlight to generate green hydrogen and new types of batteries. In professional circles, the HZB is known for its X-ray source BESSY II. The opportunities available at the institution also attract guest scientists from around the world.
