The Software Systems Engineering research group in the School of Architecture Computing and Engineering at the University of East London, is looking for two candidates to carry out research activities in the field of software protection. These research positions are funded by the FP7 European research project ASPIRE (Advanced Software Protection: Integration, Research and Exploitation) and are supervised by Dr Paolo Falcarin, who is ASPIRE's principal investigator in UEL.
ASPIRE will establish trustworthy software execution on untrusted mobile platforms (such as tablets and smartphones) that lack custom secure hardware elements, but that have a persistent or occasional network connection to a trusted remote system. The Software Systems Engineering Research Group at UEL aims at investigating two strategic areas of software engineering and security: (1) Software protection diversity and renewability; (2) Security modelling and evaluation. In the first area, the research will explore software protection techniques such as anti-tampering, remote attestation, software diversity and renewability on mobile apps built with Android NDK. The scientific challenge is realizing dynamic renewability of a mobile application, by designing and implementing client-server support for secure code updates; such diversified run-time code updates will serve different purposes: contrasting static analysis, reducing the attacker's time-frame and implementing network-based protections (such as remote attestation). In the second area, a decision support system will be developed within the project to assist developers in adopting the configuration that best fits their specific protection requirements. The decision support system will rely on a knowledge base and attack models. The challenge is building a knowledge base of software protection related attacks and evaluating the effectiveness of protection by developing tools for attack analysis based on system modelling techniques, such as Petri nets and Bayesian networks. More information about the ASPIRE project is available at http://www.aspire-fp7.eu/ JOB DESCRIPTION: The candidates are expected to contribute original research results inside this leading edge international project. The aim of the project is to advance the state-of-the-art in software protection, by elaborating and implementing novel approaches to detect and prevent software tampering on mobile applications. Candidates must have a PhD degree (in Software Engineering, Software Security, Computer Science or related areas). The candidates are required to possess knowledge in one or more of the following essential skills: - Excellent software development skills (C/C++/Java) - Experience in Android Software Development (preferably Android NDK) - A proven track record of research and publications in Software Engineering or Software Security - Experience in knowledge modelling (OWL) and reasoning, and/or in system modelling (Petri Nets, Bayesian networks, attack graphs) Other desirable skills are in the following areas: - binary obfuscators and software protection tools - ARM assembly language - Disassembler tools (IDA Pro) and binary rewriting tools - Static and dynamic analysis of software EMPLOYMENT: Type of contract: Research Assistant FTC for 2 years (with possible extension until the end of the project) Number of positions: 2 Gross salary per year: £31,492 to £35,950 per annum inclusive of London Weighting Start date: from June to September 2014 End date: 31st October 2016 Place: London (UK) APPLICATION: To apply online, fill the application form at http://jobs.uel.ac.uk/Vacancy.aspx?ref=044R2014 and attach your detailed CV (in PDF format) including a list of publications, technical skills, statement of research interests and, possibly, up to 3 reference letters. For informal technical enquiries about the posts, feel free to contact Dr Paolo Falcarin by email at [email protected] For any other enquiries contact the HR office by email: Reshma Begum at [email protected] Application deadline: 7th May 2014 For more information: http://www.aspire-fp7.eu/ http://jobs.uel.ac.uk/ http://www.uel.ac.uk/ace/ ------------------------------------------------------ Paolo Falcarin, PhD Reader School of Architecture, Computing and Engineering (ACE) University of East London Docklands Campus - 4/6 University Way, E16 2RD, London tel: +44 (0)20 8223 6086 http://www.uel.ac.uk/ace/staff/paolofalcarin/ ---- [[ Petri Nets World: ]] [[ http://www.informatik.uni-hamburg.de/TGI/PetriNets/ ]] [[ Mailing list FAQ: ]] [[ http://www.informatik.uni-hamburg.de/TGI/PetriNets/pnml/faq.html ]] [[ Post messages/summary of replies: ]] [[ [email protected] ]]
