Data Protection

When you use this website, we process your personal data as data controllers and save them for the duration required to fulfill the defined purposes and legal obligations. The sections below provide further details about the data this involves, how they will be processed and which rights you have in this regard.

Personal data, as defined by Article 4 (1) General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) include all information related to an identified or identifiable natural person.

1 Scope of Application

2 Name and Contact Information of Controller and Corporate Data Protection Office

3 Personal Data Processing and Purposes of Data Processing

4 Transfer of Data

5 Webanalysis/Tracking

6 Social Media Plug-ins

7 YouTube

8 Rights of the Data Subject

9 Data Security

10 Timeliness and Amendments to this Data Protection Information

1 Scope of Application

This data protection information applies to data processing on all websites of the Fraunhofer Institute for Applied Information Technology that refer to this data protection information.

2 Name and Contact Information of Controller and Corporate Data Protection Office

Controller within the meaning of Art. 4 (7) GDPR:

Fraunhofer Gesellschaft zur Förderung der angewandten Forschung e.V.
Hansastrasse 27 c,
80686 München, Germany

on behalf of its
Fraunhofer Institute for Applied Information Technology FIT

Schloss Birlinghoven 1
53757 Sankt Augustin, Germany

(herinafter referred to as Fraunhofer-FIT)

Email: info@fit.fraunhofer.de
Telephone: +49 2241 143-333

The corporate data protection officer at Fraunhofer can be reached at the above-mentioned address in Munich, c/o Data Protection Officer or at datenschutz@zv.fraunhofer.de.

Please feel free to contact the data protection officer directly at any time with your questions concerning your data protection rights and/or your rights as data subject.

Alternatively, you may want to send an email to our contact partner Feras Nassaj at feras.nassaj@fit.fraunhofer.de.

3 Personal Data Processing and Purposes of Data Processing

When visiting the website

You may access our website without having to disclose any details of your identity. The browser installed on your terminal device automatically transmits information to the server of our website (e.g. browser type and version, date and time of access) to enable connection with the website, including the IP address of your requesting terminal device. This information is temporarily stored in a so-called log file and deleted after no more than 30 days.

Your IP address is processed for technical and administrative purposes regarding connection set-up and stability, to guarantee the security and functioning of our website and to be able to track any illegal attacks on the website, if required.

The legal basis for processing the IP address is Art. 6 (1) lit. f GDPR. Our legitimate interest ensues from said security interest and the necessity of the unobstructed availability of our website.

We cannot draw any direct conclusions about your identity from processing the IP address and other information in the log file.

When registering for events

We regularly offer a variety of events through our website, for which you may register online. Depending on the event’s purpose and orientation, personal data such as name, address, email address or payment information will be collected and processed.

In the data protection information for the respective event we will inform you of the categories of personal data to be processed, the legal basis for the processing, the storage period and any forwarding to service providers that process your data on our behalf.

Participation in an online training

If the training in which you participate is not on-site, but rather online (e.g., via video- and/or audioconference), the following instructions shall also apply.

To conduct the online training, we use a technical service provider as processor, which processes the data according to our instructions.

In connection with participation in the online training the following data may be collected:

  • Access data: e.g., an individualized link through which you dial into the online training.
  • Content data: Contents of your contributions, e.g., in chats or in votes or files released by you. Image or sound recordings of you will be made only if and to the extent that you have separately consented to this in advance (Art. 6 (1) lit. a GDPR). The purpose as well as your consent to recording will be documented within the recording.
  • Profile data: Data about yourself that you have voluntarily released in connection with the online training; for example, your name or your profile photo. Profile data are used for personalization, for tailoring contents to the interests of the public and for a more personal style of communication.
  • Dial-in data: This includes, for example, the date and time of your dial-in to the conference and the time you leave it.
  • Support /Feedback data: Information in connection with the handling of any troubleshooting tickets or feedback.
  • Telemetry data: These include diagnostic data in connection with the use of the service, including the transmission quality. These data serve to improve troubleshooting, securing, and updating technical service and its monitoring. The legal basis is Art. 6 (1) lit. f GDPR. Our legitimate interests are the provision of a secure and error-free service for online trainings.

Unless otherwise specified, the processing of the data is done for the technical and content-related execution of the online training, i.e., for the performance of the contract (Art. 6 (1) lit. b GDPR) and we delete the data after 90 days at the latest.

During the conference, the following information is visible to other participants who are not the organizer: Your name, profile photo and your chat contributions.

We do not record whether you participated attentively in the training (e.g., whether you opened windows other than that of the online training, during the training).

If the online training takes place using the “Microsoft Teams” service, the following shall also apply:

  • The technical service provider is Microsoft Ireland Operations Ltd. in Dublin, Ireland (Microsoft), which works for us as a processor. Data storage takes place in the Microsoft Cloud, specifically in computing centers in the European geographic space. It is not anticipated to transmit personal data to a third country for reasons related to the operation of Microsoft Teams. Should you dial in from a third country, the processing ordered by us will be done using European computer centers in this case as well.
  • In providing the service Microsoft captures certain diagnostic and service data and uses these on its own authority for its own purposes. To the extent that Microsoft processes personal data in connection with its own legitimate business processes, Microsoft is the independent controller within the meaning of the GDPR for such processing. Particulars concerning the processing by Microsoft may be found at https://docs.microsoft.com/de-de/microsoftteams/teams-privacy   
  • You may also participate in an online training based on Microsoft Teams even without your own Microsoft user account. If you do use your own Microsoft user account to participate, then additional data pursuant to the provisions of your Microsoft user account may be processed.

When subscribing to a newsletter or other email list

Once you have given your explicit consent pursuant to Art. 6 (1) lit. a GDPR, we will use your email address to regularly send you selected information about the work in our Institute and/or on other facilities and/or events of the Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft. The subjects and contents of the selected information are determined by the list you subscribed to.

To receive our newsletter, we ask you to provide us with the following mandatory data:

  • Email address
  • Title
  • First name
  • Last name

We need your name and title to address you personally in our newsletter.

Once you have subscribed, you will receive a registration notification by email, which you need to confirm to receive the newsletter (so-called double opt-in). Your email response serves as confirmation that you are in fact the person who issued the subscription.

You may unsubscribe at any time, e.g. via a link at the end of each newsletter. Alternatively, you may also unsubscribe by email info@fit.fraunhofer.de or by using the following link: https://www.fraunhofer.de/de/fraunhofer-newsletter-abmeldung.html.

Once we have received your cancellation of the newsletter subscription, we will immediately delete your email address.

When using the contact form for tenders

For queries regarding our tenders, we offer you the option of contacting us directly by means of a contact form provided on the website. The following data are necessary as mandatory data:

  • Email address 

We require your data to determine that the query has come from a company and to be able to answer and process it. Additionally you may provide your title, company, department, address, telephone number, fax number and homepage, if required. The data is processed exclusively for processing your query and is not taken into account for any future award procedure.

The processing of data takes place upon your request and is within the framework of answering a contact request supported by our legitimate interest pursuant to the first sentence of point (f) of Article 6(1) GDPR.

The personal data collected by us when you use the contact form will be deleted after completion of your query.

4 Transfer of Data

If we forward personal data collected through websites to processors, we will notify you in this data protection information regarding the respective data processing operation, citing the specific recipient.

Aside from that, we will only forward your personal data if

  • you have given consent pursuant to Art. 6 (1) lit. a GDPR,
  • this is required pursuant to Article 6 (1) lit. b GDPR for the performance of a contract with you (for example forwarding to shipping companies for the purpose of delivering goods ordered by you, or forwarding payment information to payment service providers or credit institutions in order to process a payment transaction);
  • there is a legal obligation for disclosure pursuant to Art. 6 (1) lit. c GDPR.

The recipients may use the transferred data for the above-mentioned purposes only.

5 Web Analysis / Tracking

LeadLab (Wiredminds GmbH)

Our website uses the Leadlab service by Wiredminds GmbH and its tracking pixel technology to analyze user behavior and optimize our site accordingly. The service particularly allows us to identify which companies have visited our site. In so doing we do not obtain any information that may identify you directly.

The use of Leadlab involves cookies and tracking pixels which allow statistical analysis of the use of this website based on your visits. Information, including personal information, about your visiting behavior is stored in the cookie and sent to Wiredminds or is directly obtained by Wiredminds. Wiredminds uses a pseudonym to process the information in a usage profile for the purpose of analysis. The data are anonymized to the extent possible.

Without your specific permission, we neither use the data collected to identify you personally nor will we match the data with personal data pertaining to the pseudonym associated with you.

If IP addresses are collected, they are immediately anonymized after collection by deleting the last number block.

For more information about data protection at Wiredminds, please visit the company’s website.

We process statistical data based on our legitimate interest pursuant to Article 6 (1) lit. f GDPR for optimizing our online offering and our web presence. Wiredminds processes the data on our behalf based on a data processing agreement between us and Wiredminds. This agreement ensures that the data processing on our behalf is consistent with the General Data Protection Regulation and guarantees the protection of the data subjects’ rights.

6 Social Media Plug-ins

We are currently not using any so-called social media buttons (also called social media plug-ins) on our website. 

7 YouTube

We integrate components (videos) of YouTube, LLC, 901 Cherry Ave., 94066 San Bruno, CA, USA (hereinafter “YouTube”), a company of Google Inc., Amphitheatre Parkway, Mountain View CA 94043, USA, (hereinafter “Google”) in our websites. The implementation is based on Art. 6 (1) lit. f GDPR; our legitimate interest in that case is the smooth integration of the videos and the attractive design of our website.

Our websites use a solution that prevents the establishment of a connection to Google simply because you visit a site with an integrated video, without activating the video. This means that information is transmitted to YouTube only if you actually click to view the video.

Google complies with the Data Protection Regulations of the U.S. Privacy Shield and is registered with the U.S. Privacy Shield Program of the U.S. Department of Trade.

Further information on data protection in connection with YouTube can be found in Google’s privacy policy at https://www.google.de/intl/de/policies/privacy/.

8 Rights of the Data Subject

You have the following rights:

  • pursuant to Art. 7 (3) GDPR, to withdraw your consent at any time. This means that we may not continue the data processing based on this consent in the future;
  • pursuant to Art. 15 GDPR, to obtain access to your personal data processed by us. In particular, you may request information about the purposes of the processing, the categories of personal data concerned, the categories of recipients to whom the personal data have been or will be disclosed, and the envisaged period for which the data will be stored. Moreover, you have the right to request rectification, erasure, or restriction of processing, to object to processing, the right to lodge a complaint, and to obtain information about the source of your data if they were not collected by us, as well as about the existence of automated decision-making, including profiling, and, if applicable, meaningful information about the logic involved;
  • pursuant to Art. 16 GDPR, to obtain the rectification of inaccurate data or the completion of your personal data without undue delay;
  • pursuant to Art. 17 GDPR, to obtain the erasure of personal data saved by us unless processing is necessary to exercise the right of freedom of expression and information, to comply with a legal obligation, for reasons of public interest, or to establish, exercise or defend legal claims;
  • pursuant to Art. 18 GDPR, to obtain restriction of processing of your personal data if you contest the accuracy of the data, the processing is unlawful but you oppose the erasure of the personal data, or if we no longer need the personal data while you still require it for establishing, exercising or defending legal claims, or if you have filed an objection to the processing pursuant to Art. 21 GDPR;
  • pursuant to Art. 20 GDPR, to receive your personal data that you have provided to us, in a structured, commonly used and machine-readable format or to transmit those data to another controller and
  • pursuant to Art. 77 GDPR, the right to lodge a complaint with a supervisory authority. Generally, you may contact the supervisory authority of your habitual residence, place of work or the registered offices of our organization.

Information on your right to object pursuant to Art. 21 GDP

You have the right to object, on grounds relating to your particular situation, at any time to processing of your personal data pursuant to Art. 6 (1) lit. e GDPR (data processing carried out in the public interest) and Art. 6 (1) lit. f GDPR (data processing for purposes of legitimate interests).

If you file an objection, we will no longer process your personal data unless we can demonstrate compelling legitimate grounds for processing which override your interests, rights and freedoms, or unless the processing serves the establishment, exercise or defense of legal claims.

If your objection is directed against the processing of data for the purpose of direct marketing, we will stop the processing immediately. In this case, citing a special situation is not necessary. This includes profiling to the extent that it is related to such direct marketing.

If you would like to assert your right to object, please send an email to datenschutzkoordination@zv.fraunhofer.de.

9 Data Security

All your personal data are transmitted in encrypted format, using the widely used and secure TLS (Transport Layer Security) standard. TLS is a secure and proven standard that is also used, for instance, in online banking. You will recognize a secure TLS connection by the additional s after http (i.e., https://..) in the address bar of your browser or by the lock icon in the lower part of your browser.

In all other regards, we use suitable technical and organizational security measures to protect your data against accidental or intentional manipulations, partial or complete loss, destruction, or the unauthorized access of third parties. We continuously improve our security measures in accordance with the state of the art.

10 Timeliness and Amendments to this Data Protection Information

The further development of our website and the products and services offered or changed due to statutory or regulatory requirements, respectively, may make it necessary to amend this data protection information. You may access and print out the latest data protection information at any time from our website.