PhD Studentship in Computer Science, Maths or Engineering: Risk assessment in complex systems of systems

Bournemouth University

Bournemouth University

A system of systems (SoS) is a collection of individual systems that come together to form a larger, more complex system which is greater than the sum of its parts. These individual systems can be combinations of people, activities, software, and hardware. As the growing interest in the ‘Internet of Things’ has shown, connecting disparate systems can bring new opportunities, but also new vulnerabilities and threats. From a security perspective, there are additional challenges because individual systems might have different assets, vulnerabilities, threats, and general security expectations.
When considering security risks in SoS contexts, we also need to account for multiple instance of risk assessments in individual systems. For example, we may wish to assess risk of a heterogeneous networked system, such as might exist in military coalition operations, where the security goals of individual networks are independently managed, but need to cooperate for end-to-end security.
This doctoral research project will devise novel approaches for eliciting, analysing, and managing risk in complex systems of systems. Expected project outputs might include tool-integration and semantic interoperability for system of system risk assessment, or new approaches for risk analysis that consider the impact of adversarial systems in real-world examples of SoSs, such as coalition networks.
DSTL will be a major beneficiary of this research, as the outputs will improve how SoSs are designed and operated within highly uncertain and high tempo environments. The results will also be more widely applicable to large enterprises where business operations depend on connected, but separately managed systems such as IT networks.
Training Opportunities
The student will be provided with a variety of research training opportunities, to prepare them for a career in academic or industry research.
During the first year, the student will receive guidance in the relevant quantitative and qualitative research methodologies for Cyber Security, Requirements Engineering, and Empirical Software Engineering. This will include training on applying system and security engineering modelling approaches, quantitative and qualitative data analysis techniques, and case study research methods. The student will also receive training on research ethics, including guidance for working with human subjects. In the later years, the student will further develop their academic writing skills by publishing peer-reviewed conference and journal articles to disseminate the outputs of this project. The student will also develop their interpersonal skills by presenting their results at conferences and symposia.
Given that teaching experience is now a pre-requisite to a career in academia, once the student has successfully transferred status, the student will be given opportunities to develop their teaching experience by demonstrating on undergraduate and post-graduate Computing course modules. The student will also be encouraged to maintain a teaching portfolio and seek HEA fellowship status.
Eligibility Criteria
All candidates must satisfy the University’s minimum doctoral entry criteria for studentships of an honours degree at Upper Second Class (2:1) and/or an appropriate Masters degree. An IELTS (Academic) score of 6.5 minimum (or equivalent) is essential for candidates for whom English is not their first language.
Additional Eligibility
• Undergraduate or postgraduate degree in computer science, mathematics, or engineering
• An interest in the systems engineering, or model-based systems engineering in a cybersecurity context

Funding information

Funding applies to:

Open to applicants from a range of countries

Contacts and how to apply

Academic contact:

To discuss this opportunity further, please contact Dr Shamal Faily via email: sfaily@bournemouth.ac.uk

Administrative contact and how to apply:

Please complete the online application form by 30th May 2016. For further information and details of how to apply please see here.

Application deadline:

30 May 2016