Novel technologies for cyber-physical security

About the project

We are relying more and more on technology in our everyday life, which exposes us to several serious threats in the cyber-physical space. The relentless evolution of modern technologies like Internet of Things (IoT), mobile, and cloud computing played a pivotal role to extend the possibilities offered by the cyber-physical space, which is therefore getting more and more intertwined with our lives. Many benefits have been brought in by cyber-physical technologies in terms of efficiency, opportunities, and connectivity. However, our heavy dependence on the cyber-physical space has been massively exploited by attackers to compromise the confidentiality, integrity, and availability of our devices, data, and services. Attacks are not only limited to cyberspace, indeed the ubiquity of embedded devices means that adversaries can directly access them and can carry out physical and side-channel attacks. The attack surface is further complicated by the significant rise in the level of outsourcing in the integrated circuit supply chain, which has given rise to additional threats, including Hardware Trojan and integrated circuit counterfeits.

Fully funded PhD studentships at the home level are available to investigate these security issues in specific scenarios, such as smart homes and supply chain management, and devise novel controls and techniques to detect, predict and prevent security threats in the cyber-physical space. Novel technologies like machine and deep learning, physically unclonable functions, blockchain, and formal methods will be adapted and combined to reduce the risk of cyber-physical attacks. For examples of our currently active security research directions, please see the Cyber Security research group .

Successful candidates would have a strong background in either computer science or electronics or both, and preference would be given to those with a good understanding of cyber or cyber-physical security concepts and embedded systems. You will join the Cyber Security research group, which is recognized by GCHQ and NCSC as an Academic Centre of Excellence in Cyber Security Research (ACE-CSR) and has received a gold award as Academic Centre of Excellence in Cyber Security Education (ACE-CSE).

Therefore, you will be supervised by world-leading researchers in the field of cyber-physical security and join a remarkable and dynamic team of postdoctoral researchers and other PhD students. You will also have the chance to collaborate with the Cyber Security Academy , which works closely with world-leading security companies.

Lead supervisor

• Lead supervisor: Professor Vladi Sassone PhD FBCS MAE Research Chair in Cyber Security (Roke/RAEng)

Professor Vladi Sassone PhD FBCS MAE

• Professor Vladi Sassone PhD FBCS MAE: Research Chair in Cyber Security (Roke/RAEng)

Dr Leonardo Aniello

• Blockchain-based Systems
• Distributed Systems
• Machine Learning applied to Cyber Security

Entry requirements

A UK 2:1 honours degree, or its international equivalent .

Fees and funding

For UK students, tuition fees and a stipend of £16,062 tax-free each year for up to 3.5 years.

How to apply

Apply now

You need to:

Applications should include:

• choose programme type (Research), 2022/23, Faculty of Physical Sciences and Engineering
• choose PhD Computer Science (Full time)
• add name of the supervisor (Dr. Leonardo Aniello) in section 2
• a research proposal
• your cv (resumé)
• 2 reference letters
• degree transcripts to date

Faculty of engineering and physical sciences

Email: feps-pgr-apply@soton.ac.uk

Project leader

If you wish to discuss any details of the project informally, please contact:

• Dr. Leonardo Aniello Email: l.aniello@soton.ac.uk
• Dr. Basel Halak Email: basel.halak@soton.ac.uk

Research areas