[Our apologies if you receive multiple copies of this message] The Software Technology Division of the Computer Science and Engineering Department, Chalmers University of Technology is hiring: - 1 PhD student in Programming Language-based Security http://www.chalmers.se/en/about-chalmers/vacancies/?rmpage=job&rmjob=4389 - 1 PhD student in Language-based Security using Functional Programming http://www.chalmers.se/en/about-chalmers/vacancies/?rmpage=job&rmjob=4391 PhD student positions are for up to five years of full-time employment; normally, 20% of the time is allocated to departmental work (mainly teaching duties). The salary for the positions is as specified in Chalmers's general agreement for PhD student positions. * Application deadline: 30 November 2016. * Expected starting date: preferably early 2017. ------------------------------------------------------------- 1 PhD student position in Programming Language-based Security ------------------------------------------------------------- Increasingly, security flaws in applications arise due to software errors. Programming Language-based Security is a domain in which we strive to enhance security of software application by looking at properties of programming languages. In the Paragon project, we focus on achieving security of software through the construction and use of a dedicated, statically security-typed programming language. The language Paragon is an extension of Java (implemented in Haskell), adding a type system for information flow control based on an expressive calculus for security policies we have developed. The position focuses on improving and extending the applicability of Paragon to practical programming domains. Of particular interest is the Android operating system, where we envision the construction of a secure, information-flow aware app infrastructure. Research opportunities include: * applying Paragon to case studies in specific software domains, in particular the domain of Android apps. * investigating the interaction of information flow and particular language features such as concurrency or typestate; * applying the principles behind Paragon to other programming languages and paradigms; * proving mathematical properties of type systems; The ideal applicant has a strong working knowledge in programming language technology, including type systems, static analysis, and formal semantics; and also in functional programming, as well as a broad interest in programming languages and paradigms in general. Prior knowledge of software security or Android programming are useful but not essential. To read more about the Paragon project, see the project website (http://www.cse.chalmers.se/research/group/paragon/). We recommend in particular the interactive tutorial (http://cse-212294.cse.chalmers.se/research/paragon/tutorial/). This position will be supervised by Prof. Niklas Broberg and Prof. David Sands. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 1 1 PhD student position in Language-based Security using Functional Programming ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ The position focuses on developing techniques to protect confidentiality and integrity of users' data when manipulated by third-party code (i.e., code written by someone else) -- a pressing problem for the web as well as mobile platforms. We expect functional programming to play an important role addressing this challenge. In this direction, researchers at Chalmers have been responsible for developing some of the state-of-the-art tools for protecting users' sensitive data in Haskell programs (e.g., LIO https://hackage.haskell.org/package/lio and MAC https://hackage.haskell.org/package/mac). It is expected that the work carried out by the applicant ranges from establishing new theoretical foundations to deploying prototypes in realistic systems. We are looking for candidates with strong background in programming languages who are also interested in building systems using their ideas. The candidate is expected to pursue one or more of the following topics: * Combining type-systems features and dynamic analysis to secure functional languages, where the main target is Haskell programs. * Leveraging hardware-level security components (e.g, Intel SGX and ARM TrustZones) to provide security in depth, where private data can be protected from the application level down to the low-level physical layers by the use of, for instance, foreign function calls. * Design of secure web frameworks to control the flow of information in an end-to-end fashion, i.e., at the server side as well as in web browsers. We envision the creation of secure web frameworks based on functional reactive programming (FRP). As an introduction to the research area, applicants are recommended to read the article Functional Pearl: Two can keep a secret if one of them uses Haskell (http://www.cse.chalmers.se/~russo/publications_files/pearl-russo.pdf<http://www.cse.chalmers.se/%7Erusso/publications_files/pearl-russo.pdf>). This position will be supervised by Prof. Alejandro Russo (http://www.cse.chalmers.se/~russo/<http://www.cse.chalmers.se/%7Erusso/>)