University of Luxembourg is seeking candidates to fill a PhD studentship broadly in the research area of security, privacy and trust. Candidates should hold a master degree in computer science or mathematics.
Terms: full time and fully funded for duration of study
Start date: From 15 June 2020, negotiable
Apply here (CV + research statement required): http://emea3.mrted.ly/2g9oy
COVID-19 arrangements: Applications should be submitted ASAP due to possible HR delays. There is a possibility for EU citizens to start remotely. Non-EU citizens, will first need to have a residence permit approved and delivered, which is currently an unpredictable process.
This studentship will be conducted in the Security and Trust of Software Systems (SaToSS) group, led by Prof Sjouke Mauw, with co-supervision from an experienced researcher within the research group. The SaToSS group has a track record in producing outstanding researchers, for example the most recent PhD graduate, Jorge Toro-Pozo, received the award for the best thesis of 2019 in computer science at University of Luxembourg and is now a researcher at ETH Zurich.
More info on SaToSS: https://satoss.uni.lu/members/
PhD thesis topics are not limited to:
1. Privacy in: social networks, ePassports, ePayments, eVoting, blockchains, location-aware services, etc.
2. Security of: multiparty protocols, distance bounding protocols (preventing relay attacks), fair exchange protocols (agreeing on terms of transactions), threat and trust models, Android security, GNSS security, adversarial examples and bias in neural networks and language, hardware-isolation using virtualization, etc.
3. Cyber security risk assessment: using attack trees, of cyber-physical and socio-technical systems, etc.
The methodology typically applied in the group is to harness (formal) methods and tools to analyse topical security and trust problems such as the above. Methods employed are not limited to various strands of symbolic analysis, concurrency theory, logic, graph theory, and game theory. A master degree in computer science with an security element helps; however a student comfortable proving theorems can generally convert to such topics, if research in security is a new. Specific topics can be provided on request, and can be matched to a strong student’s background and interests.
The University of Luxembourg offers highly competitive salaries and is an equal opportunity employer.
For further information, and to discuss the suitability of topics and potential supervisors, please contact Dr. Ross Horne, at ross.horne@uni.lu, or Prof. Dr. Sjouke Mauw, at sjouke.mauw@uni.lu.