Two PhD positions in Privacy-preserving Biometric Authentication

Information about the department and the division
The Department of Computer Science and Engineering is a joint department at Chalmers University of Technology and the University of Gothenburg, with activities on two campuses in the city of Gothenburg. The department has around 270 employees from over 30 countries. Our research has a wide span, from theoretical foundations to applied systems development. We provide high quality education at Bachelor's, Master's and graduate levels, offering over 120 courses each year. We also have extensive national and international collaborations with academia, industry and society.

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, within the division of Networks and Systems and the Systems Security group, who are doing research on fields ranging from secure and private computing, cryptographic primitives, secure and private machine and or distributed learning, vehicular security, authentication, intrusion detection and response.

Major responsibilities
The PhD students will join Prof. Mitrokotsa's group focusing on security and cryptography, working in the area of privacy-preserving biometric authentication and within the Marie Curie ITN project: "TRESPASS-ETN: Training in Secure and Privacy-preserving biometrics". Privacy-preserving biometric authentication focuses on guaranteeing accurate biometric authentication, while at the same time providing strong privacy guarantees (e.g., avoid tracking, profiling of users and leakage of sensitive information). The focus of one of the PhD positions would be to examine how to guarantee privacy-preservation in biometric authentication systems by employing advanced cryptographic methods such as secure multiparty computation (SMPC) primitives (e.g., homomorphic encryption) and verifiable computation (when biometric authentication is applied in a distributed setting). The second PhD position will focus on employing differentially private mechanisms in the biometric authentication process. The goal is to achieve high accuracy in the authentication process, while at the same time avoid any leakage of information.

The PhD student will be supervised by Prof. Katerina Mitrokotsa in the area of information security and cryptography.

Position summary
Full-time temporary employment. PhD student positions are limited to five years and normally include 20 per cent departmental work, mostly teaching duties. Salary for the position is as specified in Chalmers' general agreement for PhD student positions. Currently the starting salary is 30,000 SEK a month before tax. The position is intended to start in Sept. 2020.

Qualifications
To qualify as a PhD student, you must have a master's level degree corresponding to at least 240 higher education credits in Computer Science, Computer Engineering, Mathematics or in a related discipline.

Experience in one or more of cryptography, machine learning, differential privacy, probability and statistics are beneficial. Mathematical maturity is essential. As for all PhD studies, a genuine interest and curiosity in the subject matter and excellent analytical and communication skills, both oral and written, are needed. 

Students that are expected to receive the MSc degree (or equivalent) in 2020 are also encouraged to apply. Knowledge of Swedish is not a prerequisite for applying since English is our working language for research, and we publish internationally. Both Swedish and English are used in undergraduate courses. Half of our researchers and PhD students at the department come from more than 30 different countries. Chalmers offers Swedish courses.

Chalmers continuously strives to be an attractive employer. Equality and diversity are substantial foundations in all activities at Chalmers.

Our offer to you
Chalmers offers a cultivating and inspiring working environment in the dynamic city of Gothenburg. 
Read more about working at Chalmers and our benefits for employees.

READ MORE AND APPLY HERE

Application deadline: 30th June, 2020

For questions, please contact:
Professor Aikaterini Mitrokotsa (Networks and Systems)
E-mail: aikmitr@chalmers.se

*** Chalmers declines to consider all offers of further announcement publishing or other types of support for the recruiting process in connection with this position. *** 
   



Chalmers University of Technology conducts research and education in engineering sciences, architecture, technology-related mathematical sciences, natural and nautical sciences, working in close collaboration with industry and society. The strategy for scientific excellence focuses on our six Areas of Advance; Energy, Health Engineering, Information and Communication Technology, Materials Science, Production and Transport. The aim is to make an active contribution to a sustainable future using the basic sciences as a foundation and innovation and entrepreneurship as the central driving forces. Chalmers has around 11,000 students and 3,000 employees. New knowledge and improved technology have characterised Chalmers since its foundation in 1829, completely in accordance with the will of William Chalmers and his motto: Avancez!