Hello all,

I am looking for two post-docs to join two projects in the theme of Meta-data Privacy Systems and Networks. The post-docs are homed in the School of Informatics, University of Edinburgh where, under my supervision, we will investigate meta-data and data privacy techniques as building blocks/primitives to realize an “engineered privacy layer” that can be embedded into the Internet and communications networks in general.

The post-docs will be a part of---and have the opportunity to interact and potentially collaborate with---the Cybersecurity, Privacy, and Trust group with over 15 core faculty members and 40+ Post-docs, PhD students, and affiliated faculty spanning a broad range of theoretical and applied topics in security, privacy, and trust. For more about the group please see: edin.ac/3mIDdqN.

If you would like to have a casual chat to find out more before applying or have any questions please get in touch with me (t.elahi@ed.ac.uk).

To learn more about my research interests please see: edin.ac/2KUmT93.

Early applications will be considered as they arrive. The deadline for both positions is 15/1/2021 17:00 GMT.

Some brief information about the two projects with links to further details follow:

1) "Integrating Meta-data Privacy into Networked Applications through ‘Add-On’ Anonymous Communication Networks"

The aim of this project is to investigate how effectively and efficiently anonymous communication networks (ACN) primitives (at the network and applications layers) can act as “add-ons” between applications that do not have privacy built-in by design (non-PbD apps) and the Internet at large.

This project will rigorously develop and extend on the current folk wisdom that to add anonymity or privacy properties to a non-PbD system, the addition of sending all traffic through an ACN is sufficient. It will provide a nuanced and technical approach to integrating anonymous networks, and the primitives they are built on, to systems that are not originally privacy-aware. The approach will be to investigate and extend privacy primitives that enable routing, path selection, and traffic shaping and compose the result into an “engineered privacy-layer”.

Duration: 18 Months

Start: March 1st, 2021 (flexible)

More Information: edin.ac/3rnDdAb (apply by 15/1/2021)

2) "Well-behaved Anonymous Communication Networks"

Mass surveillance of email and web browsing traffic is a critical and growing threat to individual and at-risk groups' online security and privacy. In response, Anonymous Communication Networks (ACNs) like Tor and Mix networks secure communications on the Internet against even the most sophisticated and powerful adversaries.

However, it is a challenge to optimally tune ACNs by the security non-expert system administrator in real world settings. Misconfiguration may lead to catastrophic failures of privacy and performance degradation that will erode trust in ACNs and hamper their adoption.

This project will investigate novel approaches combining engineering principles and PETS techniques to designing, tuning, and operating ACNs at scale. The resulting systems and techniques will contribute towards our “engineered privacy-layer” vision.

Duration 24 Months

Start: March 1st (flexible)

More Information: edin.ac/34AKDpZ (apply by 15/1/2021)

Stay safe and be healthy,

Tariq Elahi

Assistant Professor

School of Informatics

University of Edinburgh