Protecting science at the university

The University of Wuppertal conducts cutting-edge international research in a wide range of fields and is committed to continuously developing its profile in research and teaching. As the University expands its scientific excellence and strengthens its national and international networks, the protection of its research becomes increasingly important.

Unauthorised access to and manipulation or loss of data through espionage or sabotage can jeopardise not only individual careers but also the reputation of the University as a whole. Scientific protection means protecting our research results, our intellectual property and our sensitive data from threats. It is essential to ensure that international exchange, transnational cooperation and intercultural collaboration are secure and successful in the long term.

Depending on the field of research, foreign trade law (page in German, access via university network only) may also be relevant in the context of international cooperation.

Science and research are central to the progress of society. However, they are increasingly exposed to threats such as espionage and sabotage, which can jeopardise the confidentiality, integrity and availability of scientific knowledge.

Scientific espionage is the illegal acquisition of research data. Foreign governments, organisations or individuals seek to gain a strategic advantage by stealing valuable information. This jeopardises not only the confidentiality of unpublished research, but also the university's ability to innovate and compete.

Scientific sabotage is the deliberate obstruction of research projects that can cause significant damage. It involves intentionally damaging research results or deliberately destroying scientific equipment and facilities. Such destructive acts threaten not only progress, but also trust in the scientific community and its work.

Recognising warning signs at an early stage is crucial to effectively combating scientific espionage and sabotage. The following are examples of signs that should prompt healthy scepticism.

• Unusual financial incentives in exchange for research data, including job offers with special conditions (high salary, extensive research funding)
• Unusual technical requests or unusual interest in research content and technologies outside the requestor's own research area
• Sudden, conspicuous changes in behaviour (external pressure or financial incentives may be the cause)
• Suspicious activity such as unexplained data loss, unknown network connections, unauthorised tampering with technical equipment
• Unannounced visits from people not associated with your chair/institute

Keep conversations with people you do not know at a superficial level and, if possible, have the identity of the contact person confirmed.

Classify your scientific data according to its sensitivity. Tools to help you classify your data are available here (page in German, access via university network only). Use folder structures, special drives and access rights to restrict access to sensitive data on a need-to-know basis. This means that people should only have access to the information they need to perform their jobs.

If you process sensitive information on desktop computers, in the cloud or on mobile devices, you should encrypt it to protect it from unauthorised access. Information on how to encrypt information can be found here.

To encrypt an entire hard drive, contact your departmental IT support or ZIM User Support.

Create a contingency plan in your department or institute for rapid response to IT security incidents. Define clear responsibilities and action steps. Designate a point of contact for incident response who will contact ZIM in an emergency.

Do you want to raise awareness among your employees? Feel free to contact us!

If you have any questions regarding the implementation of technical measures, our IT Security colleagues will be happy to help you at itsec[at]uni-wuppertal.de.