International Association
for Cryptologic Research

The HKUST Computer Science and Engineering department invites applications for PhD students, Post-doctoral fellows, and short-term visiting interns in the topic of theory and applications of cryptography. Applicants should have a background/interest in the topics of: zero-knowledge arguments, secure multi-party computation, searchable encryption, oblivious algorithms, or homomorphic encryption.

PhD applicants should have a bachelor/master degree in computer science or engineering, information security, mathematics, or a relevant area. Excellent analytical and mathematical skills are necessary, as well as good organization skills and the ability to work independently. A strong background in coding and software engineering is a great plus for successful applicants.

Short-term internship positions are available for undergraduate and postgraduate students with an interest in the above topics.

HKUST offers competitive stipends and a creative environment that is ideal for excellent research. Our CSE department was ranked 14th in the world in 2018 by QS World University Rankings and our graduates consistently staff world-class institutions.

Interested applicants please send your CV and a short research statement to Prof. Dimitrios Papadopoulos.

Closing date for applications: 30 April 2019

Contact: dipapado (at) cse.ust.hk

The School of Cyber Science and Engineering of Shanghai Jiao Tong University was founded in October 2000. It was the first school-level training base for high-level information security professionals in China and was jointly established by the Ministry of Education of China, the Ministry of Science and Technology of China, and the Shanghai Municipal People’s Government. In order to dock the international academic frontiers and national development strategies, the key research areas of school\'s planning include: 1) Theory of Cryptography and Algorithms, 2) Quantum Computing and Post-quantum Cryptography, 3) Software and System Security, 4) Hardware and Embedded System Security, 5) Security Architecture, 6) Information Content Security, 7) Artificial Intelligence Security, 8) Cloud Security and Big Data Privacy Protection, 9) Industrial Internet, Wireless Network and Internet of Things Security, 10) Blockchain and Financial Security.

The school now has 20 open positions on the cyberspace security including 1) tenured full professors, 2) tenure-track associate professors, 3) tenure-track assistants professors, 4) full-time research fellows and postdoctoral. Applicants should have (a) a doctoral degree in Computer Science, Electronic Engineering, Communication, Mathematics, Statistics, Physics closely related to cyberspace security; (b) an established track record in research and scholarship; (c) expertise in the abovementioned 10 strategic research areas; and (d) a demonstrated commitment to excellence in teaching. We sincerely invite academic talents engaged in research related to cyberspace security from both abroad and domestic to join us. The school will provide highly competitive remuneration packages, superior research conditions and high-quality graduate students. We will assist to apply for various national, provincial and ministerial level talent programs. The university will also assist on employment of spouses, schooling for children and medical care.

Please refer to the link: http://english.seiee.sjtu.edu.cn/english/info/14810.htm

Closing date for applications: 15 August 2019

Contact: Dawu GU, Professor/Head of School of the CSE

Email: dwgu (at) sjtu.edu.cn

Identiq is introducing a new paradigm in the Identity verification market, offering strong identity verification, while preserving privacy and meeting strict regulation, such as GDPR. It is set to take over this market, and capture a significant market share in the near future.

The company is developing a unique solution, based on cryptographic protocols and multi-party computation techniques, which allows users to be validated without compromising their privacy.

The company was founded by Itay Levy, a serial entrepreneur with multiple exits in his past, Ido Shilon the general manager of Nielsen Exelate, and Uri Arad PayPal Israel’s Chief Technologist. The company closed its first financing round, with participation by strong Israeli and US investors.

Responsibilities

The job responsibilities include the design and analysis of cryptographic primitives and a full protocol involving multi-party-computation techniques, as well as bringing the protocol from design to implementation. You will be collaborating with our world-renown cryptography advisors and our top-tier technology teams. You will be inventing new encryption schemes, design computationally, and communication efficient protocols, and will be writing proofs of security and privacy under various adversary models.

This is a full-time position, reporting directly to the company’s head of research.

Qualifications

- Strong background in multi-party computation and homomorphic encryption

- Theoretical and applied experience in cryptographic protocols design

- Cryptographic protocol design and analysis

- M.Sc. in mathematics, computer science, or similar field, with specialization in cryptography and security. PhD an advantage

- Programming in C/C++/Java/C#/Go or similar languages

- Experience in protocol simulation and verification tools an advantage

Interested candidates should submit their resumes to jobs (at) identiq.com

Closing date for applications: 31 March 2019

In a joined project Telecom ParisTech and Telecom SudParis are proposing a 1 year renewable PostDoc on the topic hereunder.

Blockchain, security and privacy issues

The first 6 months consist in delivering a state of the art, plus refining on research objectives. Here are three examples of further specific topics:

A. Anonymization and micropayment channels

Such transactions appear only in a consolidated form in the blockchain. They can be managed by smart contracts, or payment providers, which have a privileged view on these transactions. A point of interest is anonymization and description of possible attacks on anonymity. A long term goal could be designing tools for monitoring and de-anonymisation.

B. Security analysis of the network layer of blockchain

The underlying network of can leak information on the identity of the users/participants. Such analysis was done on the Bitcoin network, but cannot be generalized. The research would consist in selecting another relevant example then analyzing in depth availability / performance / anonymization. Possible tools are tomography of networks, topology analysis or e.g. addresses links.

C. Fully anonymous blockchains

Contrary to Bitcoin [ACM18], Zcash and Monero enable fully anonymous paiments [OM18]. Ethereum on its side makes possible multiparty pooling of transactions [Meiklejohn & Mercer PETS18]. It could be interesting to quantify the practical usage and weaknesses of these tools [Usx18]. Getting used to monitoring tools will be usefull, as well as technological watch (including social media: reddit, discord, medium, telegram or blogs).

[ACM18] S. Meiklejohn and al. A Fistful of Bitcoins: Characterizing Payments Among Men with No Names. Communications ACM.

[OM18] C Orlandi and S Meiklejohn. QuisQuis: A New Design for Anonymous Cryptocurrencies.

[Usx18] G. Kappos and al. An Empirical Analysis of Anonymity in Zcash. 27th USENIX Security Symposium.

Closing date for applications: 31 August 2019

Contact: Please send your resume and/or questions to Gerard Memmi : gerard.memmi \'at\' telecom-paristech.fr

We are recruiting a project fellow/senior project fellow to work on applications of blockchain technology in ensuring food and drug safety.

Candidates are expected to have completed a PhD in computer science or a related discipline (in particular, candidates with a background from biotech or chemical engineering will also be considered); or with significant experience in applied research and knowledge transfer activities.

The appointee is expected to take charge of the development of the system. He/she will assume senior level of responsibility, including project management, supervising of project personnels, communicate with relevant academia staff members and meeting regularly with our industry partners.

The position is funded by the project titled \"Blockchain-Based Food and Drug Counterfeit Detection and Regulatory System\" funded by the Innovation and Technology Commission of Hong Kong.

Closing date for applications: 30 April 2019

Contact: Man Ho Allen Au

More information: http://www4.comp.polyu.edu.hk/~csallen

Applications are invited for a PhD fellowship at the Computer Science Department in the IT University of Copenhagen, Denmark. The PhD fellowship includes a salary and tuition for the duration of PhD studies, as well as access to the Danish public education and healthcare systems.

Project: Cryptographic Protocols for Scalable Privacy Preserving Blockchains

Current blockchain consensus protocols underpinning the security of cryptocurrencies and smart contracts suffer from a number of bottlenecks that severely limit the transaction throughput of such systems. Moreover, the few cryptocurrencies that offer strong privacy guarantees are not compatible with the current techniques for achieving higher throughputs. Besides scalability concerns, current privacy preserving cryptocurrencies and smart contracts are also incompatible with legal financial regulations since they do not allow for lawful audits.

The successful candidate will work on a project aiming at solving these issues by means of more efficient consensus protocols and multiparty computation techniques. We will investigate efficient cryptographic protocols for two main tasks: (1) scalable blockchain based consensus compatible with privacy preserving cryptocurrencies and (2) accountable privacy preserving cryptocurrency and smart contract systems that adhere to financial regulations. The research will be focused on developing new provably secure frameworks for building such protocols with high concrete efficiency.

This project will be carried out in cooperation with the Concordium Foundation.

Qualifications:

We are looking for motivated candidates with a background in discrete mathematics and/or theoretical computer science. Experience with distributed systems or cryptography will be considered an advantage. Candidates should have an MsC degree (or equivalent) or a BsC degree plus one year of Master level studies (equivalent to 4 years of studies).

Closing date for applications: 25 March 2019

Contact: Bernardo David, Associate Professor, beda (at) itu.dk

More information: https://candidate.hr-manager.net/ApplicationInit.aspx?cid=119&ProjectId=181022&DepartmentId=3439&MediaId=5

The department of Mathematics and Computer Science at TU/e has opened a broad hiring call in mathematics. Cryptography is not mentioned explicitly in the call but is located in the mathematics side of the department and thus eligible.

The cryptographers at TU/e would be happy to see good applications in crypto. Given the exisiting crypto group https://www.win.tue.nl/cc/, researchers at tenure track or assistant professor level are particularly encouraged to apply.

Note that applications must be submitted via the webpage. Application by email is not possible.

Closing date for applications: 1 April 2019

Contact:

• Tanja Lange (t.lange (at) tue.nl) for questions regarding cryptography
• Prof. Dr. Barry Koren for general questions about the department (as listed on the job opening page)
• Mrs. Marjolein von Reth, HR Advisor for personnel questions (as listed on the job opening page)

More information: https://jobs.tue.nl/nl/vacature/faculty-members-mathematics-assistant-associate-and-full-professors-439183.html

We are seeking to fill a post-doctoral researcher position at IBM Research – Zurich in the field of cryptography. The position is part of the EU H2020 project PRIViLEDGE, which focuses on privacy in distributed ledgers.

Particular topics of interest include, but are not limited to

Blockchains and distributed-ledger technologies

Verifiable computing and zero-knowledge proofs

Foundations & solutions for real-world cryptography.

The position is available immediately. The successful candidate will enjoy an internationally competitive salary and work in a collaborative and creative group in an exclusive research environment.

The Industry Platforms and Blockchain group at IBM Research – Zurich offers an exciting research environment with the opportunity to collaborate with researchers working on various aspects of security and cryptography, including blockchain, lattice-based cryptography, provably secure protocol design and system security.

Cooperation with other academic and industry researchers within IBM as well as acquisition of external research funding, such as European grants (including ERC), is also possible and encouraged.

The positions offer the opportunity to live in the Zurich area, which is consistently ranked as one of the world’s top five cities with the highest quality of life.

Requirements

Candidates are required to have a PhD in Computer Science, Mathematics, or related field by the time of appointment and an outstanding research record, demonstrated in the form of publications at top cryptography or security conferences (Crypto, Eurocrypt, CCS, S&P etc.).

Diversity

IBM is committed to diversity at the workplace. With us you will find an open, multicultural environment. Excellent flexible working arrangements enable both women and men to strike the desired balance between their professional development and their personal lives.

Closing date for applications: 20 December 2019

Contact: Please send your application including Ref No. 2019_10 to:

Judith Blanc

jko (at) zurich.ibm.com

HR Business Partner

IBM Research – Zurich

Säumerstrasse 4

8803 Rüschlikon

Switzerland

More information: https://www.zurich.ibm.com/careers/

In view of its ongoing development, the crypto group of the University of Versailles St-Quentin-en-Yvelines (France) invites applications for the following full-time position.

A faculty position at the tenured Assistant Professor (\"Maître de Conférences\") level is open to highly qualified candidates who are committed to a career in research and teaching. Preference will be given to candidates with strong research achievements in one or several of the areas related to the general fields of cryptology and/or information security.

Responsibilities include research, supervision of undergraduates and graduate students, preparation and management of research projects, and teaching in various study programs.

How to apply? Read carefully all the information on the official webpage below (in French). In summary:

• Registration of applications on the GALAXIE portal is open until Tuesday, March 26, 2019 at 16h (Paris time).
• Once the inscription on GALAXIE validated, an identifier and a password are automatically generated and sent within 48 hours after this registration, to the e-mail address indicated on GALAXIE.
• The upload of the complete application file must then be made on the UVSQ portal no later than Tuesday, March 26, 2019 at 23:59 (Paris time).

IMPORTANT NOTE: A \"qualification aux fonctions de Maître de Conférences\" certificate from to the french \"Conseil National des Universités\" is usually required to apply. However candidates who already hold an Assistant Professor (or equivalent) position may be exempted from this certificate.

Closing date for applications: 26 March 2019

Contact:

Louis GOUBIN, Full Professor, head of the \"Cryptology and Information Security\" group

louis.goubin (at) uvsq.fr

More information: https://tinyurl.com/y4c4vwl9

The Research Group at Nanyang Technological University (NTU), Singapore, led by Prof. Anupam Chattopadhyay is seeking skilled and motivated Post-Doctoral candidates to participate in multiple upcoming projects focusing on microprocessor security. The research team is currently funded by several large and strategic research grants in various domains ranging from microprocessor to system security. Interested applicants are encouraged to send their detailed CV, cover letter and two letters of references to Prof. Anupam Chattopadhyay (anupam at ntu.edu.sg).

We are soliciting candidates to have an sound knowledge in cryptography and outstanding background in digital/system design, including relevant experience in managing large-scale projects in C/C++/VHDL/Verilog. Candidates with prior industrial experience and familiarity with commercial processor architectures are preferred.

Review of applications starts immediately and will continue until the position is filled.

Closing date for applications: 31 December 2019

Kanazawa University, Japan, invites applications for an associate professor position or a tenure-track assistant professor position in advanced research area of information security, such as IT Security and Cryptography.

An appointee is expected on duty on July 1st, 2019 or at an early possible time after that.

Research budget:: In case of tenure-track assistant professor, Kanazawa University plans to provide a start-up research fund of approximately 800,000 JPY in the first year in addition to faculty research expense.

Closing date for applications: 15 March 2019

Contact: Masahiro Mambo (Contact information can be found below.)

More information: https://www.se.kanazawa-u.ac.jp/en/researchers/pdf/20190315_ec_tt_en.pdf

Simula UiB has up to four three-year PhD positions available in the field of cryptography. The following specific topics are of particular interest:

- algorithmic and theoretical aspects of side-channel security

- cryptographic protocols for privacy-preserving applications

- privacy-preserving pairing-based and lattice-based protocols for applications like blockchain

The PhD students will enter the PhD program of the Department of informatics at the University of Bergen. Applications must be submitted via https://www.simula.no/about/job/call-phd-students-cryptography-simula-uib

Closing date for applications: 30 April 2019

Contact: For questions and inquiries, please contact

Martijn Stam, email: martijn (at) simula.no

or

Helger Lipmaa, email: helger.lipmaa (at) gmail.com

More information: https://www.simula.no/about/job/call-phd-students-cryptography-simula-uib

Two Postdoc positions are available in the Information Security Group at Royal Holloway, University of London, UK.

The postdoc will work alongside Martin Albrecht and other cryptographic researchers in the ISG on topics in lattice-based cryptography and related fields. One post is funded by a joint grant between Royal Holloway and Imperial College (Cong Ling) for bridging the gap between lattice-based cryptography and coding theory (starting date: 15 April or later). The second post is funded by an EPSRC grant on investigating the security of lattice-based and post-quantum cryptographic constructions (starting date: 1 June or later). Applicants with a strong background in all areas of cryptography are 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.

The ISG is one of the largest departments dedicated to information security in the world with 21 core academic staff in the department, as well as research and support staff. We work with many research partners in other departments and have circa 90 PhD students working on a wide range of security research, many of whom are fully funded through our Centre for Doctoral Training in Cyber Security. We have a strong, vibrant, embedded and successful multi-disciplinary research profile spanning from cryptography to systems security and social aspects of security. This vibrant environment incorporates visiting researchers, weekly research seminars, weekly reading groups, PhD seminars and mini conferences, the WISDOM group (Women in the Security Domain Or Mathematics) and we are proud of our collegial atmosphere and approach.

Closing date for applications: 5 April 2019

Contact: Martin Albrecht, martin.albrecht _AT_ royalholloway.ac.uk

More information: https://jobs.royalholloway.ac.uk/vacancy.aspx?ref=0219-081

The IMDEA Software Institute (Madrid, Spain) invites applications for a research internship in the area of Cryptography. The successful candidate will join the cryptography group led by Prof. Dario Fiore to work on a project within the area of zero-knowledge proofs and their applications to blockchain protocols.

Who should apply: Applicants should be MSc or PhD students in computer science, mathematics or a related discipline. Strong knowledge of cryptography and solid programming skills are required. Familiarity with cryptographic protocols, cryptography implementation libraries or C++ will be considered as a plus.

Working at IMDEA Software: The position is based in Madrid, Spain, where the IMDEA Software Institute is situated. The institute provides for travel expenses and an internationally competitive stipend. The working language at the institute is English.

Dates: The internship duration is intended to be for 4-6 months (with some flexibility). The ideal starting period is from May 2019.

How to apply: Applicants interested in the position should submit their application at https://careers.imdea.org/software/ using reference code 2019-02-intern-crypto. Deadline for applications is April 15, 2019. Review of applications will begin immediately.

Closing date for applications: 15 April 2019

Contact: For enquiries about the position, please contact:

Dario Fiore, dario.fiore (at) imdea.org

Matteo Campanelli, matteo.campanelli (at) imdea.org

More information: https://software.imdea.org/open_positions/2019-02-intern-crypto.html

This position is available immediately in Professor Mosca’s Research group. You will be working with a team of researchers and developers from academia and industry on the Open Quantum Safe project (openquantumsafe.org). You will help integrate new post-quantum cryptographic algorithms into the libOQS open-source library, and design and implement techniques for evaluating and benchmarking these cryptographic algorithms in a variety of contexts. You will be required to participate in weekly sprint meetings and perform software development tasks assigned by the project team lead, ensuring that all code contributions developed by self or integrated from 3rd party contribution sources adhere to a cohesive design and framework. The field of post-quantum cryptography is rapidly evolving, and you will need to track ongoing changes to algorithms due to peer review and advances by researchers via the the NIST Post-Quantum Cryptography project forum. Any significant findings relating to a particular PQ algorithm’s effectiveness or efficiency should be brought to the attention of team lead, and may be disclosed to other researchers in forum. In addition to algorithm research, tasks cover all aspects of the software development lifecycle and include design, programming cryptographic algorithms, integrating other cryptographic implementations into the libOQS framework, integrating libOQS into 3rd party opensource projects, testing, benchmarking and documentation. You may be required to take an ownership role in coordinating the development of a sub-component of the Open Quantum Safe project.

https://uwaterloo.ca/institute-for-quantum-computing/positions/open-quantum-safe-liboqs-cryptographic-research-architect

Closing date for applications: 30 August 2019

Contact: Michele Mosca: michele.mosca (at) uwaterloo.ca

Douglas Stebila: dstebila (at) uwaterloo.ca

More information: https://uwaterloo.ca/institute-for-quantum-computing/positions/open-quantum-safe-liboqs-cryptographic-research-architect

This post offers an exciting opportunity for an appointment to strengthen the research of our existing research, for example at the interface between security and machine learning and in data science.

The Department has a large secure systems research group, led by Professor Steve Schneider, with expertise in security by design, cryptography, authentication, verification, distributed ledger technologies, trusted systems, IoT security, program analysis and cloud security. Professor Yaochu Jin also leads a research group specialising in machine learning, complex systems and networks, Bayesian learning, neuroscience, evolutionary computation and applications of machine learning.

Closing date for applications: 17 March 2019

Contact: Helen Treharne

More information: https://jobs.surrey.ac.uk/vacancy.aspx?ref=010019

If you are thinking of applying for such a fellowship, the Cyber Security group at the University of York would be very happy to talk to you about the possibility of hosting your fellowship with us.

The topic is related to \"Opportunities and risks in the application of machine and deep learning to security screening\". The Government Office for Science offers UK Intelligence Community (IC) Postdoctoral Research Fellowships to outstanding early career science or engineering researchers. These Fellowships are designed to promote unclassified basic research in areas of interest to the intelligence, security and defence communities.

UK IC Postdoctoral Research Fellowships can be held on a job share basis, if two suitable candidates are available to work on the project. UK IC Postdoctoral Research Fellowships are for a two-year period with an evaluation after the first year.

Applications are capped at a maximum contribution of £100,000 per year, at 80% of Full Economic Costs.

Applicants have no nationality restrictions. The host institution of the research fellowship will be responsible for securing all necessary work permits and related costs.

The Department of Computer Science at University of York has an established reputation for conducting research that has real impact in a wide range of sectors; in the Research Excellence Framework (REF) 2014, we were ranked 5th for impact, 6th for environment and 7th in the UK overall.

The deadline for proposal submission is April 1, 2019. (Our Centre Website: www.cs.york.ac.uk/security)

Closing date for applications: 10 March 2019

Contact: Interested candidates should contact Professor Delaram Kahrobaei (Chair of Cyber Security at University of York) delaram.kahrobaei (at) york.ac.uk as soon as possible to develop a proposal.

The Institute of Information Security at University of Stuttgart offers several

Ph.D. and Postdoc Positions

in applied cryptography, with a focus on

- Multi-Party Computation,

- Zero-Knowledge Proofs,

- Fully Homomorphic Encryption,

and applications thereof.

The positions are available immediately with an internationally competitive salary, paid according to the German public salary scale TVL-E13 or TVL-E14 (depending on the candidate\'s qualification). Appointment periods follow the German science appointment regulations, ranging from one year to up to six years.

The Institute of Information Security offers a creative international environment for top-level international research in Germany\'s high-tech region.

The successful candidate should have a Master\'s degree or a Ph.D. (or should be very close to completion thereof) in Computer Science, Mathematics, Cyber Security, or a related field. We value excellent analytical and mathematical skills. Knowledge in cryptography, and in particular, one of the mentioned fields, is an asset. Knowledge of German is not required. We can offer positions with and without teaching obligations.

The deadline for applications is

March 24th, 2019.

Late applications will be considered until the positions are filled.

Closing date for applications: 24 March 2019

Contact: Prof. Ralf Kuesters

ralf.kuesters (at) sec.uni-stuttgart.de

https://sec.uni-stuttgart.de

More information: https://sec.uni-stuttgart.de/jobopenings

Applications are invited for a 3 years PhD fellowship/scholarship at Mines Saint-Etienne, CEA-Tech, Centre CMP, Departement SAS, Gardanne France. The position is available from 1 October 2019 or later.

The main objective of this PhD thesis is to design protections to improve the security of SIKE (Supersingular Isogeny Key Encapsulation) implementations against side-channel and fault attacks.

Walks in elliptic curve isogeny graphs can be used to establish a shared secret with a Diffie-Hellman like protocol. SIKE is a key encapsulation suite based on this asymmetric cryptography. It is executed on conventional computer and is thought to be secure against an attack by a quantum computer. NIST has initiated a competitive \"post-quantum\" cryptography standardisation. These algorithms were built to avoid cryptanalysis. But, attackers may explore alternative attack methods that exploit physical access to implementation.

Electromagnetic radiation analysis of deciphering or fault injection are examples of such attacks. There exist protections to hide secrets which are used by implementations of classical cryptography. But, there are only few counter-measures to protect SIKE implementations and the threat of physical attacks against isogeny-based cryptography is not well known, up to now. This thesis will address these two problems.

The PhD student will begin by studying the SIKE protocol and existing implementations. He/She will have to identify existing physical attack propositions and to provide new attack methods. To refine the threat characterisation, he/she will build attack demonstrators based on side-channel analysis and/or fault injection. He/She will propose counter-measures that could be algorithmic, software or hardware methods to protect SIKE implementations.

The SAS \"Secure Architectures and Systems\" research group is located in Gardanne (FRANCE). It is a joint CEA and EMSE team with state-of-art equipment to perform side-channel and fault attacks. PhD student supervisors are Nadia El-Mrabet (EMSE/SAS), Luca De Feo (UVSQ/CRYPTO) and Simon Pontié (CEA/SAS).

Closing date for applications: 25 April 2019

Contact: Simon PONTIE, Simon.PONTIE (at) cea.fr

PhD scholarship on cyber security is available in SUTD. Interested candidates please send your CV with a research statement to Prof. Jianying Zhou. Only short-listed candidates will be contacted for interview.

Closing date for applications: 30 April 2019

Contact: Prof. Jianying Zhou

jianying_zhou (at) sutd.edu.sg

More information: http://jianying.space/