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In the wake of the Christmas Eve cyber attack against Maastricht University, experts have been working hard to repair the damage and reactivate all systems. The Student Portal, the schedules (read-only exclusively), Blackboard and study materials are now all accessible to students. In addition, all UB services are operational, allowing the education programmes to be resumed on Monday 6 January.

Work is currently underway to make a number of systems for scientific research and operational management at UM operational. This includes access to the internet within UM buildings, to data files on network drives and the use of e-mail. Unfortunately, these systems will not yet be available on Monday 6 January. This is expected to take a few more days and the duration may vary per system. It is of the utmost importance that UM can rely on a safe and clean working environment as soon as possible. However, this is a delicate problem which needs to be handled with the utmost care and that takes time. As soon as a system is available again, this will be communicated immediately.

The Executive Board are aware that this is an extremely unfortunate situation affecting all our stakeholders and ask for understanding. The UM Board, deans and directors would like to thank once again all staff who worked hard for many days during the Christmas holidays to solve the problem.

Here’s an update on the state of play regarding the use of internet, data files and e-mail.

Internet

On 24 December, UM put a protective "shell" around its entire network. Only a few internet ports for specific applications such as Student Portal and Blackboard remained open.

From 2 January, access to the internet via the UM’s Wi-Fi network was restored. The Wi-Fi network gives limited access to the UM’s online systems, such as student portal, UM Intranet and Blackboard. The UM network drives are not accessible via WiFi.

For security reasons, it will not be possible for employees to access the internet from the wired UM network on Monday 6 January.

Data files

The UM network has special, highly protected "file sharing" network drives in place, such as the J drive, for storing data files. Please note that the initial letter may be different for each university department or unit. There will be limited access to these drives from Monday, 6 January. This means that documents on these network drives can be opened, viewed and edited locally, but they cannot be saved yet or overwritten on these drives. Unfortunately, all this requires additional action by students and staff. Please read the FAQ which describes how to deal with this. All UM data storage systems are expected to be fully operational again after Monday 6 January.

Email

UM experts are currently working hard to move all email and calendar files to a secure backup environment. Due to the enormous amount of data, this is taking longer than hoped. This means that email and agenda cannot be used yet on Monday 6 January. However, these functionalities are expected to be operational in the following days. All e-mails, including those sent after 23 December, will come in again. In total, this involves approximately half a million messages.

Student Desktop Anywhere (SDA)/ Virtual Desktop Infrastructure (VDI)

In addition to laptops and PCs, UM also has a VDI/SDA system (workstations linked to a little black box). VDI/SDA will be operational again from Monday 6 January. VDI/SDA allows users to download read-only Microsoft Office files, but these files can only be stored on a USB stick. Unfortunately, there is no access yet to email, calendar and other applications such as SPSS. We are currently working hard to restore this. See the FAQ for more information.

Back office

The SAP / ERP will be partially operational again from tomorrow, which means that various back-office activities involving Human Resources, Finance and Facility Services will be resumed.

New Year's reception

UM will hold its New Year's reception as planned on Monday 6 January.

Reset your password before Monday, 6 January

We advise students and staff to change their passwords from outside the UM network before Monday, 6 January. Students can do this by logging in to the Student Portal. Staff can do this by logging in to UM intranet. You will be automatically asked to modify your password. Please note: don’t go for the "password recovery" option!

Many users have heeded the call to reset their passwords. At the time of publication of this update, more than 15000 users changed their login details. Please note that you don’t actually have to come to the university to reset your password.

Information desks and mailboxes for students and staff

Students who have questions that are not answered in the FAQ and that are not study-related, can send an email to info@m-u.nl. Study related questions can be sent to your own faculty, via the mailboxes below.  

Staff members can address their units with their questions.

• Faculty of Health, Medicine and Life Sciences: fhml@m-u.nl, Universiteitssingel 50
• Faculty of Psychology and Neuroscience: fpn@m-u.nl, Universiteitssingel 40
• Faculty of Law: fl@m-u.nl, Bouillonstraat 2
• Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences: fasos@m-u.nl, Grote Gracht 90/92
• Faculty of Science and Engineering: fse@m-u.nl, Kapoenstraat 2
• School of Business and Economics: sbe@m-u.nl, Tongersestraat 53
• Service centres:
  University Library, Facility Services & Finance: servicecentra@m-u.nl
  Students Services Centre & ICTS: info@m-u.nl
• Maastricht University Office: muo@m-u.nl 
• University Libraries: inner city and Randwyck
• Student Services Centre: Bonnefantenstraat 2

Opening hours callcenter for students
The callcenter can be reached daily from 8:30 until 17:00 at +31 43 38 85 101 or e-mail: info@m-u.nl.

Leniency arrangement for students
Students who have experienced demonstrable obstacles in their study progress due to the cyber attack can address a committee, led by vice-rector Harm Hospers. Information about the procedure will follow.