PhD in Computer Science, cybersecurity and network measurements of DNS - Hiring in process/Finished, not possible to apply

Description

The Department of Mathematics and Computer Science is now accepting applications for a doctoral studentship leading to a PhD with a specialisation in cybersecurity and network measurements of DNS. The appointment is a partnership between the research groups in Distributed Systems and Communications (DISCO) and Privacy and Security (PriSec) at Karlstad University as part of an overarching collaboration with DNS-Labs, which was recently established by the Swedish Internet Foundation.

Research conducted by DISCO includes computer networking, cloud computing, and next generation technology such as programmable networks, SDN/NFV, and 5G. PriSec research is focused on cybersecurity and usability, including network security for the Tor anonymity network.

The Swedish Internet Foundation is an independent, business-driven public benefit organisation. They are responsible for the Internet's Swedish top-level domain .se and manage the operation and administration of the top-level domain .nu. DNS-Labs is a recently formed research team at the Swedish Internet Foundation intended to promote DNS-related research and development.

Duties

A doctoral student is mainly expected to engage in doctoral studies. The doctoral programme comprises 240 higher education credits, including the doctoral thesis.

The position involves work with network measurement and cybersecurity with a focus on DNS. DNS has seen major changes in recent years, such as the broader use of DNSSEC, DNS over HTTPS/TLS (over Tor), DMARC, Oblivious DNS, and various blockchain-based technologies such as Ethereum Name Service and Namecoin, to name a few. How do these changes take place in practice on the Internet? How do the changes affect the Internet, society, and individuals? How can we change the way DNS works to make the Internet even faster, safer, and more robust in the future?

The doctoral student is expected to conduct research connected to the questions formulated above through methods such as large-scale network measurements and analysis to find answers to questions about DNS and cybersecurity. For that reason, expertise or experience in one or more of the following areas are desirable: DNS, communication protocols, network measurements, cybersecurity, applied cryptography, network simulation/emulation, machine learning, and data analysis. The position requires proficiency in programming, such as Python for data analysis.

The doctoral student is expected to work independently as well as in a team and show enthusiasm for the research. The doctoral student will have the opportunity to influence the direction of the research about DNS. A senior staff member from the Swedish Internet Foundation’s DNS-Labs will serve as an external co-supervisor alongside the regular supervisors from the two research groups of DISCO and PriSec. We encourage joint projects with other doctoral students, staff members from the Swedish Internet Foundation’s DNS-Labs, and the research community at large. The appointment includes travel funds for international conferences. For that reason, the doctoral student should be able to work well with others and have prior experience from project work.

The agreement between Karlstad University and the Swedish Internet Foundation stipulates that the project’s results should be made publicly available in some form. Developed software will be released as open-source and research results will be published in free and open channels that anyone can access (for example, as open access).

Qualification requirements

To be eligible for doctoral studies, the applicant is required to meet the general and specific entry requirements (Higher Education Ordinance, Chap. 7, Sect. 35).

To meet the general entry requirements, the applicant must have been awarded a second-cycle qualification; satisfied the requirements for courses comprising at least 240 credits of which at least 60 credits were awarded in the second-cycle; or acquired substantially equivalent knowledge in some other way in Sweden or abroad. (Higher Education Ordinance, Chap 7, Sect. 39).

To meet the specific entry requirements, the applicant must hold a Degree of Master (60 or 120 ECTS credits) in Computer Science, hold a Degree of Master of Science in Computer Engineering, or in some other way have acquired equivalent knowledge, in the country or abroad.

Admission and assessment criteria

To be eligible for doctoral studies, the applicant must be considered to have the ability required to benefit from the course or study programme (Higher Education Ordinance, Chap. 7, Sect. 35). Admission is based on individual assessments with a focus on the intended duties. Proficiency in spoken and written English is required.

Terms

Upon admission to doctoral studies, the person will be offered the appointment of doctoral student (Higher Education Ordinance, Chap. 5, Sect. 3). The doctoral studentship is a fixed-term position comprising four years of full-time studies. If the doctoral student accepts additional duties in research, teaching, or administration that are not included in the doctoral studies, the term duration can be extended by up to one year. These duties may not account for more than 20% of full-time.

The start date is 1 September 2021, or as negotiated.

The salary for the doctoral studentship corresponds to the standard level of salary for doctoral students at Karlstad University.

Further information

Karlstad University places great value on the enriching presence of diverse backgrounds and gender balance in the organisation. We welcome applicants with different cultural backgrounds, gender identities, functional abilities, and life experiences.

Application

Submit the application via the University’s web-based recruitment tool, Varbi. Applicants are responsible for submitting a complete application in accordance with the advertisement and for ensuring that the documentation allows for objective and qualitative assessments. A complete application should be submitted no later than the application deadline. An incomplete application may jeopardise a fair assessment of qualifications. Include at least two references, at least one of which should be from a current or previous supervisor.

The application should include:

• A cover letter where the applicant details the reasons behind their interest in the position
• A list of qualifications (CV)
• Degree certificate with a complete transcript of the courses included, or a certified list of completed courses with grades and dates
• Copy of Master’s thesis or similar
• Where applicable, copies of publications or certificates for other qualifications
• Contact details for at least two references

Attach all the documents and publications you wish to be considered to the electronic application (do not just provide links). Name each uploaded document to clearly indicate its content.

Send non-electronic documents to:

Karlstads universitet

Att. Maria Möller

Fakulteten för hälsa, natur- och teknikvetenskap

651 88 Karlstad
Sverige

Label all documents included in your application with the reference number, REK 2021/100.

Application deadline 30 June 2021

We look forward to your application!