More on those 10 PhD Positions at Royal Holloway’s CDT in Cyber Security

My colleagues who work on the social/cultural side of (information) security together with colleagues from other departments have put together an outline for people who come from disciplines such as Human Geography, Sociology, Criminology, Law, Political Science, International Relations, Classics, Archaeology, Cultural Studies and Media Studies.

Fully Funded 4-year PhD Studentships at the EPSRC funded Royal Holloway Centre for Doctoral Training in Cyber Security for the Everyday

We are pleased to advertise positions for up to 10 PhD studentships to begin in September 2019 at the new Centre for Doctoral Training (CDT) in Cyber Security for the Everyday at Royal Holloway University of London.

We seek applications or informal expressions of interest from students and researchers with an interest in cyber security. In addition to Mathematics and Computer Science, relevant disciplines may include Human Geography, Sociology, Criminology, Law, Political Science, International Relations, Classics, Archaeology, Cultural Studies, Media Studies and more.

Building on two previous Centres for Doctoral Training in Cyber Security based at Royal Holloway, and anchored within the Information Security Group, the new CDT reflects the growth in and need for interdisciplinary research which critically engages with everyday cyber security questions. It does so by combining an understanding of technical systems with social science and humanities approaches to cyber security, personal information and growing datafication. In a broad sense, PhD projects will explore cyber security in the context of societal needs, critically evaluate the contribution cyber security makes to societal and individual securities and place discussions over the ethics, rights, responsibility and fairness of cyber security at the centre rather than at the periphery. Other academic departments involved in the Centre include Computer Science, Geography, Law, Psychology and Politics and IR.

Whilst broad in scope, the CDT is driven by two overarching strands of enquiry:

• The technologies deployed in digital systems that people use, sometimes inadvertently, every day; and
• Everyday societal experiences of cyber security, including how different societies, communities, groups and individuals conceptualise, materialise, negotiate, and respond to increasingly digitally mediated and technologically driven worlds

A central aspect of the CDT programme is interdisciplinary collaborations as students work on shared projects and other collaborative activities within their PhD cohort. This is encouraged throughout their studies but a key component of the first year, which is devoted to training activities and individual and group projects. Students may not have established project ideas at the time of recruitment but develop these during the first year.

The core strategic objectives of the CDT in Cyber Security for the Everyday are:

1. To develop cohorts of truly multi-disciplinary researchers, with a broad understanding of cyber security and a strong appreciation of the interplay between technical and social questions;
2. To promote research in cyber security that is original, significant, responsible, of international excellence and responsive to societal needs; and
3. To engage with stakeholders in the cyber security community and wider society

We are keen to encourage applications from across the Social Sciences and Humanities. Potential areas of interdisciplinary study include but are not limited to:

Conceptualise

• The arts and critical discourses of cyber security
• Agenda-setting, framing and cyber security
• Feminist cyber security
• Social difference, intersectionality and cyber security
• Intimate spaces of cyber security (including the body, home, etc.)
• Everyday/routine violences and cyber security
• Solidarity and resistance and alternative forms of cyber security
• Narratives of security
• Ontological security across disciplines and forms of expression

Materialise

• Contemporary archaeologies of cyber security
• Cyber security and the city
• The materiality of digital mediation in cyber security
• Media as data
• Resistance through data, memes/gifs/films
• Simulation and simulated affect -emotional security data  & machines

Negotiate

• Sustainable development goals and cyber security
• The impact of cyber security and public policy
• Territory, diplomacy and cyber security
• Regional and international cyber security
• Transnational and global governance of cyber security
• Cyber security of democratic institutions
• Cybersecurity at work
• Organisational approaches to and processes of cybersecurity
• Cybersecurity profession and professionals
• E-surveillance at work

Respond

• Mobilities, automated and autonomous mobility systems
• Resistance, dissent and cyber security
• Hate crimes and affect
• Cultural economies, crypto-currencies and piracy
• The dark web, visibility and invisibility
• Practices of data hacking in media consumption.

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Postdoc Position at Royal Holloway on Key Exchange

Carlos and I have a postdoc position on designing cryptographic key exchange protocols that support incorporating key material from, erm, … diverse sources. This is part of a consortium that looks at integrating some quantum cryptography with post-quantum cryptography, but there is no need to think so narrowly about the problem. That is, the project is about incorporating randomness from wherever it might come and what security goals can be achieved depending on what is compromised. More generally, if you enjoy cryptographic protocols, not limited to key exchange protocols, this might be a fitting postdoc position. Get in touch with Carlos or me, if you’re unsure on whether the position is a good fit.

Location:	Egham
Salary:	£39,479 to £41,743 per annum – including London Allowance
Closing Date:	Tuesday 12 March 2019
Interview Date:	To be confirmed
Reference:	0219-048

The Information Security Group at Royal Holloway University of London is seeking to recruit a postdoctoral research assistant (PDRA) to work in the area of cryptography. The position is available for immediate start, for up to 26 months (until 31 March 2021).

The PDRA will work alongside Prof. Carlos Cid, Dr. Martin Albrecht and other cryptographic researchers at Royal Holloway on topics connected to the design and analysis of cryptographic key exchange protocols that support incorporating key material from diverse sources. This post is part of the AQuaSec project, a Innovate UK-funded research project with 17 partners from industry and academia, aiming to develop technologies for quantum-safe communications by integrating post-quantum cryptography with techniques from quantum cryptography.

Applicants for this role should have already completed, or be close to completing, a PhD in a relevant discipline, with an outstanding research track record in cryptography. Applicants should be able to demonstrate scientific creativity, research independence, and the ability to communicate their ideas effectively in written and verbal form. Salary is £39,479 per annum, inclusive of London Allowance. This post is appointed at Grade 7, Spine point 34.

Established in 1990, the Information Security Group at Royal Holloway was one of the first dedicated academic groups in the world to conduct research and teaching in information security. The ISG is today a world-leading interdisciplinary research group with 20 full-time members of staff, several postdoctoral research assistants and over 50 PhD students working on a range of subjects in cyber security, in particular cryptography.

In return we offer a highly competitive rewards and benefits package including:

• Generous annual leave entitlement
• Training and Development opportunities
• Pension Scheme with generous employer contribution
• Various schemes including Cycle to Work, Season Ticket Loans and help with the cost of Eyesight testing.
• Free parking
• Competitive Maternity, Adoption and Shared Parental Leave provisions

The post is based in Egham, Surrey where the College is situated in a beautiful, leafy campus near to Windsor Great Park and within commuting distance from London.

To view further details of this post and to apply please visit https://jobs.royalholloway.ac.uk. For queries on the application process the Human Resources Department can be contacted by email at: recruitment@rhul.ac.uk. Informal enquiries can be made to Prof. Carlos Cid at carlos.cid@rhul.ac.uk.

Please quote the reference: 0219-048

Closing Date: Midnight, 12 March 2019

Interview Date: To be confirmed

PS: I will have two more postdoc positions, on lattice-based cryptography in the next few weeks/months.

10 PhD Positions at Royal Holloway’s Centre for Doctoral Training in Cyber Security

At Royal Holloway we are now taking applications for ten fully-funded PhD positions in Information Security. See the CDT website and the ISG website for what kind of research we do. In particular, check out our past and current CDT students to get an idea of how broad and diverse the areas of information security are in which they work.

Note that most of these positions are reserved for UK residents, which does, however, not mean nationality (see CDT website for details) and there might also be some wiggle room for EU residents.

Postdoc at Royal Holloway on Lattice-based Cryptography

I am looking for a postdoc to join us to work on lattice-based cryptography. This postdoc is funded by the EU H2020 PROMETHEUS project for building privacy preserving systems from advanced lattice primitives. At Royal Holloway, the project is looked after by Kenny Paterson and me. Feel free to e-mail me with any queries you might have.

The ISG is a nice place to work; it’s a very friendly environment with strong research going on in several areas. We got people working across the field of information security including several people working on cryptography. A postdoc here is a 100% research position, i.e. you wouldn’t have teaching duties. That said, if you’d like to gain some teaching experience, we can arrange for that as well.

Also, if you have e.g. a two-body problem and would like to discuss flexibility about being in the office, feel free to get in touch.

Location	Egham
Salary	£36,654 per annum – including London Allowance
Closing Date	Monday 17 September 2018
Interview Date	To be confirmed
Reference	0818-334

The ISG is seeking to recruit a post-doctoral research assistant to work in the area of cryptography. The position is available now and will run until the end of 2021.

The PDRA will work alongside Dr. Martin Albrecht and other cryptographic researchers at Royal Holloway on topics in lattice-based cryptography. This post is part of the EU H2020 PROMETHEUS project (http://prometheuscrypt.gforge.inria.fr) for building privacy preserving systems from advanced lattice primitives. Our research focus within this project is on cryptanalysis and implementations, but applicants with a strong background in other areas such as protocol/primitive design are also encouraged to apply.

Applicants should have already completed, or be close to completing, a PhD in a relevant discipline. Applicants should have an outstanding research track record in cryptography. Applicants should be able to demonstrate scientific creativity, research independence, and the ability to communicate their ideas effectively in written and verbal form.

In return we offer a highly competitive rewards and benefits package including generous annual leave and training and development opportunities. This is a full time fixed term post is based in Egham, Surrey where the College is situated in a beautiful, leafy campus near to Windsor Great Park and within commuting distance from London.

Informal enquiries can be made to Martin Albrecht at martin.albrecht@royalholloway.ac.uk.

To view further details of this post and to apply please visit https://jobs.royalholloway.ac.uk/vacancy.aspx?ref=0818-334. For queries on the application process the Human Resources Department can be contacted by email at: recruitment@rhul.ac.uk.

Please quote the reference: 0818-334

Closing Date: Midnight, 17th September 2018

Interview Date: To be confirmed

10 PhD Positions at Royal Holloway’s Centre for Doctoral Training in Cyber Security

At Royal Holloway we have ten PhD positions in Information Security. The catch is that almost all of those positions are reserved for UK residents. Note that this does not mean nationality, see funding page (there might also be some wiggle room in some cases). For more information see the CDT website and the ISG website for what kind of research we do.

Welcome to the EPSRC Centre for Doctoral Training (CDT) in Cyber Security at Royal Holloway. The Centre was established in 2013, and has as its main objective to produce cohorts of highly-trained researchers with a broad understanding of cyber security.

The CDT is hosted by the Information Security Group (ISG), and provides multidisciplinary training to annual cohorts of around ten students each. The students follow a 4-year doctoral programme: the first phase consists of a taught component comprising 25 per cent of the programme. The remaining three years follow the more traditional path of doctoral studies, with each student undertaking research in an advanced topic in the field of cyber security. See the CDT Course of Study page for more information about the programme.

CDT recruitment typically runs from November to April, to select students for the CDT cohort to start the following September. Selected applicants are awarded fully-funded PhD studentships (stipend and College fees) for four years. We consider applications from candidates with undergraduate and masters qualifications in a wide range of disciplines, including, but not limited to, mathematics, computer science, and electrical and electronic engineering.

We are now open to receive applications for students to start their PhD studies in September 2018.

Please explore the links below to learn more about the entry requirements, funding and eligibility, and how to apply to Royal Holloway’s CDT in Cyber Security.

Postdoc at Royal Holloway on Post-Quantum Cryptography in Hardware

Together with Carlos Cid, we have a two-year postdoc position available. The position is focused on hardware implementations of post-quantum cryptography such as lattice-based, code-based, hash-based or mq-based schemes. If you are interested, feel free to get in touch with Carlos or me. If you know of somone who might be interested, we would appreciate if you could make them aware of this position.

Postdoc at Royal Holloway on Quantum-Safe Cryptography in Hardware

Together with Carlos Cid, we have a two-year postdoc position available. The position is focused on hardware implementations of quantum-safe cryptography such as lattice-based, code-based, hash-based or mq-based schemes. If you are interested, feel free to get in touch with Carlos or me. If you know of somone who might be interested, we would appreciate if you could make them aware of this position.