JOB: Funded PhD positions on Security in Ubicomp at FH Hagenberg, Austria

—————— PhD Positions Announcement
——————–

Johannes Kepler University Linz, Austria (JKU) and
University of Applied Sciences Upper Austria (UAS), at the Campus
Softwarepark Hagenberg, offer a Joint International PhD Program in
Computer Science covering a broad range of special areas in both
fundamental and applied research. In this context, we are offering
several funded PhD positions in
computer science in the form of scholarships or research employments.

The Joint International PhD Program in Computer
Science offers:

* A defined, but flexible curriculum for PhD
students guiding them towards their thesis but supporting personal
adaptations with regards to previous experience and the respective
topic.

* Access to the postgraduate courses and laboratories/facilities
at both JKU and UAS.

* Full integration of PhD students into
internationally renowned research groups within JKU and UAS.

*
Competitive salaries matching the FWF Austrian Science Fund PhD
(DoktorandIn) policies (http://www.fwf.ac.at/de/projects/personalkostensaetze.html,
variable depending on the specific research project).

How to apply:

Candidates
are invited to apply to any of the open positions described in more
detail at http://www.faw.jku.at/phd/index.php?action=openpositions
and are required to hold a Master’s degree in computer science or
related

subjects. To be considered for admission to the
program, an applicant must submit the following documents in electronic
format:

* Application form (available at http://www.jku.at/STA/content/e4426/e4269/e3457/e3456/e3443/e3442/FormularDoktorat_ger.pdf
from JKU).

* Certificates for all degrees obtained (as
authorized copies and translations).

* Certificate of satisfying
the requirements for PhD studies of the university from which the
Master’s degree was obtained (as authorized translation; waived for
students who obtained the Master’s degree from a university within the
EU).

* Curriculum vitae (max. three pages, including the names of at
least two professors who can provide academic references).

*
Statement of objective outlining the applicant’s background and
motivation for obtaining a PhD degree within the framework of the
International PhD Program in Informatics in Hagenberg (max. two pages).
This statement should also explicitly
state which of the open positions the student is applying for.

Applications
must be sent until Friday, October 14, 2011 by email to <Renate.Haghofer@fh-hagenberg.at>
(further details at http://www.faw.jku.at/phd/index.php?action=admission
).

—————— Security in Ubicomp Project Description
——————–

User Authentication Framework for Mobile Devices

Current
mobile devices such as mobile phones, tablets, or laptops are equipped
with increasing local storage and computation capabilities and are
therefore use to store more and more personal and sometimes highly
sensitive information. In addition to the data privacy issues, device
theft is becoming a secondary issue, driven by the increasing resale
value of mobile phones.

Aims and Scope

In this PhD project, the main
aim is therefore to analyze possibilities of and develop a framework
for user authentication on mobile phones. Examples for such
authentication methods are:

* code entry in various forms (e.g.
PIN code, password, or pattern on 2D board)

* face
recognition using the built-in camera

* voice (speaker)
recognition using the built-in microphone

* explicit gesture
recognition using the built-in accelerometer, magnetometer, and
gyroscope

* implicit gait recognition using the built-in
accelerometer, magnetometer, and gyroscope

* fingerprint recognition

Research
Goals:

The outcome of the associated PhD thesis should be a framework
for such sensor-based and probabilistic user authentication as well as
initial implementations for some of the specific authentication methods.
A secondary research challenge is the usage of fuzzy cryptography
methods to exploit biometric other otherwise sensor-based authentication
information for on-device encryption of sensitive data. This is an open
issue for all current user authentication methods that do not rely on
entering a (long) password that can be re-used to directly derive
encryption keys. All other methods can currently not be combined with
on-device encryption and therefore constitute a security threat.

Project
Context:

This research topic is part of a larger research
initiative at FH Hagenberg to develop, implement, and study security
architectures, techniques, and method especially for mobile devices. A
research laboratory with up to 10 PhD positions is planned to be
established within the next 2 years.

—————— Additional
Project Topics ——————–

For other project topics
(which are not directly related to Ubicomp), please see http://www.faw.jku.at/phd/index.php?action=openpositions.

Please
don’t hesitate to contact me directly with any questions concerning the
open positions or the specific PhD project.

—

—————————————————————————–

Prof.
(FH) Priv.-Doz. Dr. René Mayrhofer

Professor for Mobile Computing

School of
Informatics/Communications/Media

University of Applied Sciences
Upper Austria

FH OÖ Studienbetriebs GmbH

Softwarepark
11

4232 Hagenberg/Austria