What is Matrix, why do I need it and how do I get an account?

Matrix is an a communication platform similar to Microsoft Teams and Slack. We use Matrix to communicate with SCC users via the SCC Space (like a Team in Teams) and to securely provide you with the credentials needed to access the SCC.

How to get a Matrix account?

The easy way

Assuming you do not have a Matrix account yet, the easiest way is to download the Element app from here.

If you use Windows, you can also install it via winget:

winget install Element.Element

Linux users can install it via their package managers.

After you have downloaded the app, just follow the instructions.

When you have logged in for the first time, it is really important to generate and store your recovery key. This is needed to be able to read encrypted messages on new devices.

In order to do this, go to Settings → Security & Privacy and then click on Create Recovery Key. Store this key somewhere safe. If you lose it, you will not be able to read encrypted messages anymore!

Be more advanced

You can, of course, use a different Matrix client if you want to. A list of available clients can be found here.

You can also use a different "Home Server" if you want to. There are a bunch of public ones listed here. Alternatively, if your institution provides a Matrix server, you can also use that one.

Why do you not use Teams/Slack/Email?

We needed a system that provides us with the following features:

• Institution-independent: We have users from multiple institutions. MS Teams in particular makes it hard for users of other institutions to join a Team.
• Secure: We need "End-to-End Encryption" (E2E) to securely provide you with your credentials.
• Bot friendly: We need to be able to send automated messages with sensitive information (your credentials) in a secure way.

Matrix provides all of these features and is open source. Therefore, we decided to use Matrix.