International Association
for Cryptologic Research

Protecting against physical attacks through the use of secure codes

******************************************************

Physical attacks exploit the real-life characteristics of a security device, for example (passively) monitoring its power consumption or (actively) triggering computational errors during processing, in order to recover its embedded secret keys. These attacks are particularly damaging against embedded devices.

Error-correcting codes aim at preventing errors in data by adding redundant information in data encoding in a way allowing detecting and - ideally - correcting errors. Error-correcting codes were initially designed as a protection against non-malicious errors, but might represent an interesting opportunity against malicious faults as well, and can possibly be extended in order to offer resistance against passive attacks as well.

The objective of this project is to investigate this research lead, designing codes offering resistance against physical attacks and assessing their effectiveness, in a context of smart grid/smart sensor applications.

The research will take place in the framework of a European project involving high-level academic and industrial experts. The researcher will also benefit from the dynamic research environment of the UCL Crypto Group (Université catholique de Louvain), with strong interactions with researchers working on related subjects.

The candidate should hold a PhD in mathematics, computer science or electronics, with strong interests in coding theory and cryptographic algorithms. A preliminary background in side-channel attacks is useful, but not mandatory.

Note that, due to the nature of the funding, this position is only available for a non-Belgian citizen in a situation of international mobility, i.e. the candidate should not have spent more than 24 months in Belgium over the last 3 years.

We are looking for excellent, highly motivated and self-driven PhD students to work in the areas of applied cryptography and network security. We have (fully funded) 2 or 3 Ph.D. positions, starting from Spring 2016 (i.e., March 2016) or Fall 2016 (September 2016).

OSU offers a competitive salary, an excellent work environment, all within a close proximity of high-tech industry and natural beauties of Oregon, USA. The excellent candidates will have opportunities for research internship, collaborations and joint-projects with lead-industrial and academic organizations.

The candidates will work on the design, analysis, realization and deployment of new cryptographic schemes and protocols in various practical application domains. Research topics include but not limited to:

• Secure and Trustworthy Cloud Computing
  • Highly efficient searchable encryption and oblivious RAM
  • Distributed cloud security
• Secure and Reliable Inter-Intra Vehicular Networks
  • Time-critical authentication and integrity in inter-vehicular networks
  • Privacy for autonomous driving
• Secure and reliable smart-infrastructures (e.g., smart-grid IoTs)
• Trusted-hardware and hardware-acceleration techniques to enhance cryptographic methods

Candidates should fulfill the following requirements:

• MS degree in computer science, electrical engineering or mathematics; BS with high-GPA and research experience also considered.
• Knowledge of cryptographic protocols and primitives;
• Excellent programming skills (e.g., C, C++),
• Good Academic Writing and Presentation Skills;

To apply please send by e-mail the following documents:

• Transcripts (BS and MS)
• Curriculum vitae
• Reference letters
• Previous publications
• Research statement>

Cryptography, Security & Privacy Research Group at Koç University has multiple openings for both M.Sc. and Ph.D. level applications, as well as Post-Doctoral positions. All accepted applicants will receive competitive scholarships including tuition waiver, housing, monthly stipend, computer, travel support , etc.

For more information about our group and projects, visit

http://crypto.ku.edu.tr

For applying online, and questions about the application-process, visit

http://gsse.ku.edu.tr

For summer internship opportunities, visit

http://kusrp.ku.edu.tr

For research questions, contact Asst. Prof. Alptekin Küpçü

http://home.ku.edu.tr/~akupcu

Spring 2016 MSC/PHD/POSTDOC deadline: 14 December 2015.

Summer 2016 Internship deadline: 31 January 2016 (may have a later deadline if quota remains).

The Security in Information Technology (SIT) Research Group at TU Darmstadt, Germany, headed by Prof. Dr. Michael Waidner is offering a full-time PhD position on Consent Management in Emerging Mobile and Pervasive Computing Systems.

The vacancy is within the newly established research training group \"Privacy and Trust for Mobile Users\" funded by DFG, the German Research Foundation.

We are looking for a candidate interested in working at the intersection of privacy engineering, identity management, applied cryptography, and machine learning, starting as soon as possible.

Further information: https://www.sit.informatik.tu-darmstadt.de/de/security-in-information-technology/open-positions/pre-doc-in-consent-management/

Applications are invited for a fixed-term post-doctoral researcher position (Security in Cyber Physical Systems) at University College Cork, Ireland. The position is within the the Security Group in the Department of Computer Science in conjunction with the recently established CONNECT Research Centre. The researcher will be part of the IRC/Chist-ERA programme funded project DYPOSIT: Dynamic Policies for Shared Cyber-Physical Infrastructures Under Attack. This project is being undertaken in collaboration with the Lancaster University, UK and Katholieke Universiteit Leuven, Belgium.

DYPOSIT will investigate the problem of large, shared cyber physical systems under attack. The project will consider the challenge of dynamically formulating and adapting security controls, rapidly and on-demand, in the face of unfolding attacks on a shared cyber physical system fabric integrating multiple applications run by a variety of stakeholders. The Post-Doctoral Researcher will primarily contribute to the development and implementation of a distributed security model for cyber physical systems in which trade-offs between threats, controls and other constraints, can be reasoned about in managing security policy deployment.

There is a vacancy for a PhD position at the Department of Informatics, University of Bergen, Norway (www.uib.no/en/ii) within cryptology. The position is for a fixed term period of 3 years and funded by the project “Modern Methods and Tools for Theoretical and Applied Cryptology” (CryptoWorld) awarded by the Research Council of Norway.

About the project/work tasks

Analyze, design and implement symmetric cryptographic lightweight primitives. Establish new methods of algebraic cryptanalysis and implement them efficiently. Advance the theoretical understanding of the use of Nonlinear Feedback Shift Registers (NLFSRs) for the needs of symmetric key cryptography.

The research training

The PhD candidate should have a strong background in computer science or/and mathematics with relevance to cryptography and must participate in an approved educational program for a PhD degree within a period of 3 years.

Job Responsibilities:

•To develop cryptographic protocols and schemes.

•To develop secure cloud computing systems.

•To design, analyze and implement security systems and e-commerce systems.

Requirements

•Master’s degree in Computer Science, Electronic Engineering or other relevant disciplines with 3+ years experience; less experience for PhD holders.

•Experience in cryptographic system design and cryptanalysis.

•Deep knowledge on number theory and security proofs.

•Hands-on experience with C/C++ and Java.

•Preferably having experiences on using cryptographic libraries such as OpenSSL, MIRACL, PBC, etc.

•Experience in developing cloud computing systems an advantage, but not a must.

•Strong interpersonal and communications skills.

•Good command of both written and spoken English.

Within the Cryptography Group at the University of Bristol (http://www.cs.bris.ac.uk/Research/CryptographySecurity/) , we are looking to expand our side channel activities in the areas of programming language and compiler extensions (to support side channel aware implementation techniques), analysis of newly proposed elliptic curves and related signature standards, attacks on complex devices, and implementations of (hardware) countermeasures. To be eligible for funding students must normally either be UK or EU citizens, and have lived in the UK for at least 3 years prior to the start of the studentship.

We have an active and well funded side channel community within the Cryptography Group, working on both theoretical aspects and practical attacks. Our lab features state of the art equipment and we benefit from friendly relationships to both local as well as international companies and institutions with an interest in all aspects of side channel research. Any new student will have rich opportunities for their development alongside making contacts within the wider cryptographic community.

If you are interested then please get in touch as soon as possible by an email to the contact below containing a transcript, and/or (predicted) degree classification, alongside some information about any final year project that you have finished (or are currently working on), and internships you may have concluded.

The Computer Science and Engineering (CSE) and Electrical and Computer Engineering (ECE) Departments at the University of Connecticut invite applications for two tenure-track faculty positions, one at the assistant, associate or full professor level and the other at the assistant professor level. Both positions have an expected start date of August 23, 2016. The research specialties of interest are Cryptography, Computer Security, and Security Engineering.

For full job description please visit our website at http://www.cse.uconn.edu/current-job-listings/. UConn is an EEO/AA Employer.

We are looking for postdoc fellow with expertise on Cryptographic Protocols (UC-security, multi-party computations), Information Security, Cloud Computing and Big Data Analytics. The candidates should have PhD in Cryptography and Information Security or Cloud Computing or Database Engineering with track record of strong R&D capability.

Interested applicants are advised to email the following documents to

Dr. Huafei Zhu (zhuhf (at) zucc.edu.cn)

CV

Three reference letters

Personal statement outlining your interest in the position

The School of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science is seeking a Lecturer in Cryptography. The successful candidate will have a strong theoretical background and familiarity with modern developments in mathematical cryptography, as well as demonstrated capacity for creative research. Women, Indigenous Australians and Torres Strait Islander people are strongly encouraged to apply. Open to Australian and International applicants.

Position Purpose: The successful candidate will teach and coordinate at both the undergraduate and postgraduate levels. This position will work closely with an ARC Future Fellow in the area of cryptographic protocol design, with a focus on lightweight, useable and human-driven cryptography. A strong theoretical background and familiarity with modern developments in mathematical cryptography, as well as demonstrated capacity for creative research are essential.

We are looking for an excellent, motivated, self-driven PhD student to work in the area of privacy in cloud computing. The position is for three years and the main aim of the PhD project is to design and develop privacy-preserving protocols for cloud environments.

The successful candidate is expected to perform research on the aforementioned areas based on their experience and research interests. They must have strong background in Computer Science and/or Mathematics. They are expected to publish articles in well-known security related conferences and journals. Although all applications will be carefully evaluated, candidates with prior publications as well as research experience in the following areas are specifically encouraged to apply: cloud computing, security and privacy in cloud environments, trusted computing, applied cryptography, privacy in participatory sensing applications, and privacy in eHealth, secure e-Voting schemes and reputation systems.

Candidates should fulfill the following requirements:

• A Master degree in Computer Science or mathematics;
• Knowledge of Cryptographic Protocols;
• Cloud Computing Architecture;
• Good Academic Writing and Presentation Skills;
• Good Social and Organizational Skills;

Publications in security and privacy will be regarded as an additional merit.

The Cybersecurity group at the University of Westminster intends to increase the number of women in those areas where they are underrepresented. Therefore women are explicitly encouraged to apply.

To apply please send by e-mail the following documents:

• Curriculum vitae
• Motivation letter
• Research statement

The Research School of Computer Science at the Australian National University (ANU) is one of the premier computer science research institutions in the country with a worldwide reputation for excellence.

The School is seeking applications from ambitious researchers for two or more positions at academic level B or C. These \"tenure track\" positions will be offered under the College\'s Ongoing Position Program (OPP), with an initial appointment of five years and a commitment to convert to continuing subject only to performance. During this period, and particularly at level B, the teaching workload will initially be reduced in order for the appointee to establish their research career.

Exceptional candidates in all areas related to computer science will be considered. However, candidates whose appointment would strengthen the School in the areas of software engineering, cyber security, or at the interface between computer science and biomedical science or social science, are particularly encouraged to apply. In addition, the School puts a strong emphasis on enhancing diversity in our staff and students, and is particularly keen for candidates in under-represented demographic groups to apply.

Three positions are available at Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU) and University of Bergen. Two positions at NTNU are either as a PhD Candidate, 100% position, or as a Postdoctoral Researcher, 100% position. One position at University of Bergen is for a Postdoctoral Researcher, 100% position. Postdoctoral appointments are for a term of 3 years. PhD appointments are for a term of 3 years without teaching assistance and up to 4 years with 25% teaching assistance.

All of the researchers will work on a project entitled “Cryptographic Tools for Cloud Security” funded by the Norwegian Research Council. The project is a collaboration between the Departments of Telematics and Mathematical Sciences at NTNU, Trondheim, and the Department of Informatics at the University of Bergen. The overall aim of the project is to develop new cryptographic algorithms and protocols suitable for securing cloud computing against pervasive adversaries.

Further information, and instructions for how to apply are available at:

NTNU positions: http://www.jobbnorge.no/en/available-jobs/job/118739/

Bergen position: http://www.jobbnorge.no/en/available-jobs/job/119264/

The Physical Analysis and Cryptographic Engineering (PACE), Temasek Laboratories @ Nanyang Technological University, Singapore is seeking one motivated researcher to fulfill the post-doctoral research scientist position, in the area of hardware security.

The candidate will perform the research of hardware design/analysis within cryptosystems in FPGA and ASIC, specific to side-channel attacks. This position is available from February 2015. The initial contract will be one year. There are possibilities for extensions upon successful performance.

- Candidates should have already completed, or be close to completing a PhD degree in mathematics, computer science, electrical engineering, or related disciplines, with strong background in design/analysis of side-channel attack relevant hardware security in FPGA/ASIC environment.

- The candidate should have track record in R&D (publications in international journals and conferences.)

- Creative, curious, self-motivated and a team player with good analytical skills.

- The candidate needs to speak fluent in written and spoken English

- The competent candidate is expected to be experienced in FPGA/ASIC developments, crypto-core implementation and optimization with coding background in VHDL/Verilog/System Verilog and FPGA EDA tools is required. The candidate should be acquainted with high-level tools/languages like MATLAB, Python, TCL or Perl for automation and analysis.

- The candidate should have previous lab experience in developing prototypes, manipulating oscilloscopes, writing device drivers and communication interfaces which are used in analysis of implemented designs.

- Previous experience either in cryptographic development for critical application (automotive/aerospace/medical) or signal processing is a plus.

We are looking for an excellent, motivated, self-driven doctoral student to work in the area of information security and cryptography. The position is for five years at the Department of Computer Science and Engineering. The PhD student will join Katerina Mitrokotsa’s group and will be funded by a project funded by the Swedish research council focusing on security and privacy issues in resource constrained devices.

The PhD student is expected to have a MSc degree or equivalent, and strong background in mathematics and/or theoretical computer science, with some background in cryptography. Successful candidates will help to design and evaluate cryptographically reliable and privacy-preserving authentication protocols.

The position is fully funded for five years. The call for expressions of interest will remain open until a suitable candidate is appointed.

The postdoctoral fellow will carry out research and experimental work in the field of cryptographic protocol technology applied to wireless and mobile communication systems. The candidate will participate in the development of instrumentation and research projects in our new wireless security lab.

The candidate will collaborate in research projects with the professors affiliated with the NTNU Applied Cryptology Research Lab, and will be able to supervise Master thesis students specializing in wireless security.

We seek a highly motivated and qualified individual with a strong publication record, holding a Ph.D. degree in communication networks or related fields by the time of appointment. Key requirements include:

• Documented research activity and publications in information and communication security, in particular with a focus on cryptographic technology

• In depth knowledge of wireless and mobile communication systems
• Expressed and documented interests and ability to perform experimental studies
• At least a Masters level of computer engineering skills in software or hardware
• Excellent communication skills in English (written and spoken)

At University College London (UCL), we just opened a 2-year post-doc position to work on Privacy-Preserving Techniques for Web-based Infectious Disease Surveillance.

Application deadline: 10 December 2015.

Details and instructions on how to apply are available from http://preview.tinyurl.com/ovr6sfm

[For more information about security and privacy research at UCL, please visit http://sec.cs.ucl.ac.uk/people/]

•Develop the implement encryption technologies

•Develop cryptographic systems

•Develop mobile security solutions

•Develop and implement cyber intelligence and defense technologies

•Study new security threats in the cloud infrastructure

•Perform security review and assessment on information security and e-commerce systems

•Conduct R&D on various in information security

Requirements:

•Bachelor degree or above in computer science, electrical engineering or other relevant disciplines

•Experience in hands-on R&D projects, especially on software systems

•Experience in planning, organizing, leading and implementing novel R&D projects, especially on information security and data analytics related areas

•Preferably with certificates or formal training in information security or with experience in security assessment, but not a necessity

•Good knowledge of OS security and virtualization security

•Implementation experience on the cloud an advantage

•Strong interpersonal and communications skills

We are looking for excellent candidates with strong background in Computer Science, Mathematics or Engineering.

Our research focus is on practice-oriented provable security. Topics of interest may include (but are not limited to):

- Provable security of cryptographic implementations

- Randomness generation

- Cryptographic protocols (e.g. cryptocurrencies)

Starting date: earliest possible

A competitive salary is offered.

Send your documents to sebastian (dot) faust (at) rub (dot) de

Applicants are required to have completed (or be close to completing) a Master or Diploma with excellent grades in Computer Science, Mathematics, or closely related areas. Additional knowledge in related disciplines such as, e.g., complexity theory or IT security is welcome.

Please send your application to Sebastian Faust via e-mail. Applications should contain a CV, a 1-page letter of motivation, copies of transcripts and certificates, and (if possible) names of references. Review of applications will start immediately until the position has been filled.

Founded in 2001, the Horst-Görtz Institute at Ruhr-University Bochum is a leading interdisciplinary research center dedicated to research and education covering all aspects of IT security, with an excellent record of research in cryptography. The Horst-Görtz Institute has 15 professors and over 80 PhD students from more than 20 different countries.

Contact: Sebastian Faust, sebastian (dot) faust (at) rub (dot) de

Closing Date for Applications: 2015-12-10