The Internet knows many types of cyber security threats, which are ever-increasing. Threats such as (distributed) denial-of-service attacks continue to pose a severe risk to users, organisations, and vital services and infrastructures alike. Attacks can emanate from access networks as well as target them. High-volume attacks (i.e., volumetric DDoS) are commonly mitigated at the network edge (e.g., in ISPs) or in data centers (e.g., cloud-based scrubbing).

In the current state-of-the-art of the Data Center (DC) industry, existing DCs can – more or less – be broken down into three categories: 1) hyper scale data centers; 2) colocation data centers; and 3) on-premise data centers. A fourth class of DCs is on the rise: micro data centers. Micro DCs are dispersed in many locations, closer to the user. This newer class of DCs enables, among others, low-latency connectivity and edge computing, and may offer other benefits such as a high degree of flexibility, evolvability and adaptability to new technologies, and failsafe deployments.

At the same time, the micro DC’s infrastructure, services provisioned therein, and users need to be protected against attacks originating from the Internet. Moreover, attacks originating from the micro DC or its users – either inadvertently or deliberately – also need to be stopped from egressing. The decentralized nature of micro DCs offers an opportunity to detect and mitigate attacks both ways, before reaching the target and/or close to the source(s) of the attack.

The University of Twente is part of the MISD Project consortium (short for “Modular Integrated Sustainable Datacenters”), in which one of the research areas is security. This PhD project exists within said area.

More specifically, the goal of this PhD project is to devise and validate a distributed cyber security approach within the micro DC context. The candidate is expected to methodically identify opportunities to collect telemetry in a distributed sense and use this information to detect attacks (e.g., through federated machine learning), and to produce actionable intelligence for mitigation purposes. A requirement is to do this using non-proprietary tools and in a vendor-independent and open manner, avoiding software or hardware vendor lock-in.

The PhD candidate will work at the Design and Analysis of Communication Systems (DACS) group at the University of Twente. The research will be conducted under the supervision of dr. ir. Mattijs Jonker and dr. Antonia Affinito, and Prof. dr. ir. Roland van Rijswijk-Deij.

• A Master's Degree in Computer Science or related discipline;
• A strong background in computer networking;
• Demonstrable experience with coding and data analytics;
• An understanding of machine-learning basics;
• Knowledge of programmable networks and fast-path networking is a bonus;
• Creative thinker with analytical and problem-solving abilities;
• A high degree of responsibility and independence;
• Good communication skills and a full professional proficiency in English;
• Able to collaborate and work in a team comprised of faculty, peers and other colleagues.

• As PhD candidate at the University of Twente, you will be appointed to a full-time position for the period of four years, subject to a qualifier exam held within the first year;
• The university offers a stimulating and exciting scientific environment with enthusiastic colleagues;
• Your salary and associated conditions are in accordance with the collective labor agreement of Dutch universities (CLA-UNL);
• You will receive a gross monthly salary ranging from €2.901 in the first year to €3.707 in the fourth year;
• Excellent benefits including a holiday allowance (8% of gross annual salary), a 8.3% end-of-year bonus, and a solid pension scheme;
• The flexibility to work partially from home;
• A minimum of 232 leave hours, based on a formal workweek of 38 hours. Full-time employment in practice means 40 hours a week, resulting in 96 extra leave hours on an annual basis;
• The university is a family-friendly institution that offers both paid and unpaid parental leave;
• Free access to sports facilities on campus;
• You will undergo a training programme as part of the Twente Graduate School (TGS), grounded in a training and supervision plan, drawn up by you, in agreement with your supervisors.

The mission of the DACS group is to contribute to the development of the trusted and resilient Internet that is needed by our society. We do that by performing top research and by educating students. We investigate how to ensure complete control over our core Internet and its connected mobile and wireless communication infrastructures. To get control, the first step is to ensure that we can measure and analyse the traffic flowing over the Internet to detect anomalies and attacks. Next, we investigate how to influence traffic routing over the Internet and mitigate attacks by filtering traffic. Finally, we certify that systems connected to the Internet operate precisely as described by designing future network systems.

Are you interested in becoming part of our team? Please submit your application before February 1, 2025, via the ‘Apply Now’ button below, and include:

• A motivation letter, detailing your reasons for applying for this PhD position and the project, and explaining how you match the profile;
• A Curriculum Vitae;
• An academic transcript of your BSc and MSc education.

The first round of interviews will be held on February 25, 2025.

Do you have questions about this vacancy? Please contact Mattijs Jonker for substantive questions about the position and the application procedure (please always include Antonia Affinito in CC via a.affinito@utwente.nl).