[agents] PhD in Information Assurance, Luxembourg

[Wojtek Jamroga]

The University of Luxembourg seeks to hire outstanding researchers at 
its Interdisciplinary Centre for Security, Reliability and Trust (SnT). 
SnT is carrying out interdisciplinary research in secure, reliable and 
trustworthy ICT (Information and Communication Technologies) systems and 
services, often in collaboration with industrial, governmental or 
international partners. SnT is active in several international research 
projects funded by the Horizon2020 programme and the European Space 
Agency. For further information you may check: www.securityandtrust.lu 
<http://www.securityandtrust.lu> .

  * *PhD Candidate in Information Assurance (M/F)*
  * Ref: R-STR-5014-00-B
  * Fixed Term Contract up to 3 years, pending satisfaction of progress
    milestones (CDD), full-time (40 hrs/week) Number of positions: 1


          Your Role

*The Team*

The researchers will be working under the supervision of Prof P Y A 
Ryan, head of the APSIA (Applied Security and Information Assurance) 
research group, http://wwwde.uni.lu/snt/research/apsia.
APSIA specializes in the mathematical foundations of information 
assurance: the mathematical modelling and analysis of information flows, 
the design and analysis of cryptographic primitives and protocols (both 
classical and quantum), secure verifiable voting systems, and anonymous 
marking systems and game-theoretic analysis of non-interference and 
coercion-resistance. The group has expertise in both the symbolic 
(formal methods) and the computational (“provable security”) styles of 
analysis and is investigating the links and synergies between them. The 
group has also established itself as a leading centre for the 
socio-technical aspects of security.

*The Project*

The research will be conducted within the VoteVerif project 
(Verification of Voter-Verifiable Voting Protocols), in collaboration 
with Polish Academy of Sciences, Warsaw, Poland. The project aims to 
develop novel concepts, methodologies, and tools for specification, 
analysis, and assessment of information security properties. The focus 
is on voting procedures and protocols, and in particular on their 
essential features like confidentiality, coercion-resistance, and 
voter-verifiability. The approach of the project is holistic, in the 
sense that we plan to develop theoretical concepts (such as strategy- 
based metrics of information security) not for their own sake, but in 
order to apply them to an important domain of social life, and come up 
with guidance on the conduct of elections and novel designs for secure, 
usable voting systems. To this end, we are going to develop algorithmic 
tools that help to analyze the level of security and usability. Note 
also that, while we focus on voting procedures in the project, the 
concepts and tools being developed can be also applied to other domains 
where information security is important.

Your Profile

  * A Masters in Computer Science, Applied Mathematics, Mathematical
    Physics or related field
  * Strong background in mathematics and computer science
  * Experience in cryptography, security modelling, and/or game theory
    will be considered as an advantage
  * Commitment, team working and a critical mind
  * Fluent written and verbal communication skills in English are mandatory


          We offer

The University offers a Ph.D. study program with a Fixed Term Contract 
up to 3 years (extension up to 4 years in total is possible), pending 
satisfaction of progress milestones (CDD), on full time basis 
(40hrs/week). The University offers highly competitive salaries and is 
an equal opportunity employer. You will work in an exciting 
international environment and will have the opportunity to participate 
in the development of a newly created university.


          Further Information

Applications, written in English should be submitted online at 
http://recruitment.uni.lu/en/ and should include:

  * Curriculum Vitae (including your contact address, work experience,
    publications)
  * Cover letter indicating the research area of interest and your
    motivation
  * A research statement which addresses specifically the topic of the
    position (300 words)
  * Transcript of all courses and results from the university-level
    courses taken
  * A short description of your PhD work (max 1 page)
  * Contact information for 3 referees


Deadline for applications: 7 October 2016

For inquiries please contact: Prof Dr Peter Y A Ryan, peter.ryan at uni.lu 
<mailto:peter.ryan at uni.lu;> or Prof Dr Wojciech Jamroga 
w.jamroga at ipipan.waw.pl <mailto:w.jamroga at ipipan.waw.pl>