PhD Studentship in Cyber Security: Distributed Ledgers & Cryptography – Privacy-Preserving Proofs of Location and Validity over Distributed Ledgers

Overview

We are seeking a highly motivated PhD student to conduct research related to designing provably-secure privacy-preserving cryptographic proofs of location and validity that can be deployed over distributed ledgers to provide a balance between trust and privacy. The research will involve investigating novel techniques for designing and proving the security of such protocols as well as identifying new applications.

You will be part of the Secure and Resilient Systems research group part of the accredited centre of excellence in cyber security research, one of only 19 accredited centres of excellence in the UK.

Number Of Awards

1

Start Date

April or September 2023

Award Duration

3.5 years

Sponsor

School of Computing, Newcastle University

Supervisors

Dr Essam Ghadafi, essam.ghadafi@newcastle.ac.uk

Eligibility Criteria

You must have, or expect to gain, a minimum 2:1 Honours degree or international equivalent in Computer Science or related subject. Familiarity with Cryptography and Cyber Security is required. 

Applicants whose first language is not English require an IELTS score of 6.5 overall with a minimum of 5.5 in each subsection. International applicants may require ATAS (Academic Technology Approval Scheme) clearance. 

The studentship covers fees at the Home rate (UK and EU applicants with pre-settled/settled status and meet the residency criteria). International applicants are welcome to apply but will be required to cover the difference between Home and International fees. 

How To Apply

You must apply through the University’s Apply to Newcastle Portal 

Once registered select ‘Create a Postgraduate Application’.  

Use ‘Course Search’ to identify your programme of study:  

• Search for the ‘Course Title’ using the programme code: 8050F
• Research Area: Computing Science
• Select ‘PhD Computer Science (full time) - Computing Science' as the programme of study 

You will then need to provide the following information in the ‘Further Questions’ section:  

•  A ‘Personal Statement’ (this is a mandatory field) - upload a document or write a statement directly in to the application form  
• The studentship code COMP2134 in the ‘Studentship/Partnership Reference’ field  
• When prompted for how you are providing your research proposal - select ‘Write Proposal’. You should then type in the title of the research project from this advert. You do not need to upload a research proposal.  

 Before you submit your application you will need to upload the following supporting documentation:  

• Covering letter and CV. The covering letter must state the title of the studentship, quote reference code COMP2134 and state how your interests and experience relate to the project   
• Degree transcripts and certificates and, if English is not your first language, a copy of your English language qualification if already completed.  

Contact Details

Dr Essam Ghadafi, (essam.ghadafi@ncl.ac.uk) Please state the reference number and the title of the advert in the email subject.