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PhD studentship in mathematical models of access control policies, London (England), Deadline: 28 Feb 2017

PhD studentship in mathematical models of access control policies and 
their implementations

University College London ? Computer Science ? Info Sec and PPLV ? Prof 
David Pym & Prof Angela Sasse ? 
https://www.prism.ucl.ac.uk/#!/?project=206

Applications are invited for a PhD position at the Information Security 
Group of the UCL Department of Computer Science, funded by the Government 
Communications Headquarters (GCHQ). The successful candidate will also be 
a member of the Programming Principles, Logic, and Verification (PPLV) 
Group. The studentship is open only to UK nationals because of the 
funder's eligibility requirements. The successful candidate will be 
required to undertake an internship of approximately 2 - 4 weeks per year 
at GCHQ's headquarters in Cheltenham. To be considered for this 
studentship, candidates must therefore be prepared to undergo GCHQ's 
security clearance procedures.

The successful candidate will develop logical and mathematical models of 
access control policies in physical and information systems, including the 
architectural and behavioural issues that affect the extent to which an 
implemented system complies with policies. The aim of the project is to 
develop a framework for modelling access control policies and their 
implementation in system architectures and will provide tools for 
reasoning about the circumvention of policies in the presence of 
behaviours that are driven by competing priorities (the 
policy-implementation gap). Thus the project will address problems that of 
significant concern in business contexts using rigorous mathematical 
and/or computational tools. The project build on and integrate aspects 
three scientific literatures: within computer/information security, the 
study of access control models, such as Bell La Padula, Biba, and Chinese 
Walls; within logic/theoretical computer science, frameworks for modelling 
and reasoning about access control policies in system contexts; and, 
within usable security and security economics, the study of how 
individuals and organizations place different values on the benefits and 
costs of behaviours associated with security policies.

All research that is undertaken at UCL as part of the studentship will be 
unclassified and published in the open literature.

The start-date for the studentship will be no later than October 2017 
(this cannot be delayed).

We expect a candidate to have at least a strong 2:1 degree in Mathematics 
or Computer Science, or to have successfully completed an MSc course in a 
related area. Prior knowledge of some of logic, semantics, 
information/computer security, mathematical modelling using tools such as 
Matlab, and empirical methods in data collection and analysis would be 
advantageous.

Applications should be submitted to University College London using the 
"Apply" buttons on this page 
(https://www.prism.ucl.ac.uk/#!/?project=206). If you have any queries 
about submitting an application, please email Sarah Turnbull at 
s.turnbull@ucl.ac.uk.

Your application must reach the Department by 28 February, 2017.
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