Economics of Cybersecurity: the economic modelling of secure protocols and services

Cybersecurity is of crucial importance in today’s economy, affecting businesses from a range of sectors, from telecommunications and finance to energy, healthcare and transportation. Traditionally, cybersecurity research has focused mainly on technical aspects of computing systems, communication networks and protocols. More recently, their economics aspects, such as the role of incentives in cybersecurity, have received a growing attention of the academic community, and cyber economics is currently a thriving discipline of interdisciplinary research.

Examples of this approach in cybersecurity research include the proposal of FlipIt (http://www.emc.com/emc-plus/rsa-labs/staff-associates/flipit-the-game.htm) which models cyber attacker-defender interaction as a game; the study of incentive-compatible schemes for secure outsourcing of computation (https://pure.royalholloway.ac.uk/portal/files/22755263/gamesec14_outsource.pdf and https://pure.royalholloway.ac.uk/portal/files/19920816/outsourced_computation_weis2014.pdf); the modelling of cybersecurity information sharing schemes (https://pure.royalholloway.ac.uk/portal/files/22755288/gamesec14_infosharing.pdf and https://pure.royalholloway.ac.uk/portal/files/27035290/WISCS16_vulnerability_sharing.pdf); and the study of cyber insurance models.

We are looking for a qualified student to work with Prof Carlos Cid investigating the economic modelling and design of secure protocols and services. A particular method of interest is the use of game theoretic modelling and analytic tools in their study and design. Applicants should have or be expecting to obtain a first class honours degree or a masters degree in Mathematics or similar subject. Ideally, applicants would also have interest (and potentially some experience) in game theory, economics and information security.

The Information Security Group (ISG) at Royal Holloway, University of London is one of the largest academic security research groups in the world. As a result, the student will benefit from a thriving and dynamic research environment, and may collaborate with PhD students and researchers with interest in the field.