[sbx320]

This seems like a bit of a misconception in the article. The university website [1] states:

> For security reasons and in accordance with the legal requirements of the German National Research and Education Network (DFN), there is no alternative to this procedure.

I'd assume the DFN requires all users to be personally identifiable for liability reasons. Although requiring all users to show up in person is still a bit odd. I just received a letter with a one time password by regular old mail back when I entered university.

[1] https://www.uni-giessen.de - English version of the second article is available by scrolling down a bit.