Research fellowship about “Secure composition of microservices: a formal approach with bigraphs, process algebras and temporal logics” - deadline Aug 26, 2024
Call for applications
What
We are looking for a strong candidate for a 15-months research fellow position within the PNRR SERICS project “Securing softWare frOm first PrincipleS” (SWOPS), funded by the Italian Ministry of University and Research (MUR) and EU fund NextGenerationEU (NGEU). This project involves teams from the Universities of Venezia Ca’ Foscari, Firenze, Cagliari, Udine and IMT Lucca.
The SWOPS project seeks to establish a robust foundation for developing software that is inherently secure. By creating advanced programming tools and techniques, we aim to empower developers to write code that is resistant to vulnerabilities from the outset. Our approach involves constructing semantic models and high-level abstractions to simplify secure coding practices. Additionally, we will develop sophisticated static and runtime analysis methods to continuously verify software integrity, behavior, and freedom from exploits. Finally, we will contribute to the creation of infrastructure that supports the secure execution and integration of software components.
Within this project, this specific research fellowship focuses on the security analysis and verification of microservices architectures, composed of numerous interconnected containers. These widely adopted architectures introduce new and complex security challenges, such as information flow control, access control, and the protection of sensitive data. The goal is to develop a formal and compositional model that can accurately and rigorously represent these aspects, as well as specify and verify the associated security policies. We will build upon existing formal models, inspired by graph-based metamodels, that offer an abstract and flexible representation of composite systems like containers. This approach will allow us to address security challenges in a systematic and rigorous manner, contributing to the robustness and reliability of microservices architectures.
Who
The ideal candidate should have a research background in areas related to Formal Methods, Semantics, Distributed Systems.
A MSc in Computer Science or affine subjects is required. A PhD is appreciated but not required.
When and how much
This is a full-time position for 15 months. Starting date can be negotiated, but it’d better be no later than October 1st, 2024 (in order to end by December 2025).
The overall gross salary is €23,367.00 per year, including social security contributions; this corresponds to about 1640 euro net per month, tax free.
Where
The successful candidate will work under the supervision of Riccardo Focardi (DAIS, Univ. of Venezia Ca’ Foscari) and Marino Miculan, at the Department of Mathematics, Computer Science and Physics (DMIF) of the University of Udine. DMIF is one of the oldest and largest Computer Science departments in Italy, and with a well-renowned tradition in Formal Methods.
Life quality in Udine is constantly among the highest in Italy, still the cost of living is lower than in larger cities (and Udine is one hour from both the Alps and the Adriatic Sea…). We can consider the possibility of working from remote.
How to Apply
The call is available at the UniVE website (look for code 28946870, title “Composizione Sicura di Microservizi: Un Approccio Formale con Bigrafi, Algebre di Processo e Logiche Temporali”). Deadline for applications is August 26, 2024 12:00 CEST.
If you are interested in this position and you are willing to have more information, please send an email to Marino Miculan (marino.miculan@uniud.it).