PhD Studentship: Generative AI for Cyber Security Response

Funding for: UK, EU, International students

Funding amount:

UK/Overseas tuition fees and tax-free stipend at current UKRI rate £20,622 plus BT sponsorship covers additional stipend up to £29,000 for UK students

Hours: Full Time

Closes: 23rd April 2024

This ICASE EPSRC PhD studentship will involve research on Generative AI for Cyber Security Response.

It will involve investigating the use of generative AI models to synthesize data for use in developing cybersecurity AI-based applications. As a starting point of particular interest, it will look at the generation of realistic network topologies for use with an industry tool tailored to represent specific environments of interest. The project also aims at investigating the uses of generative AI in general for cybersecurity, beyond network topology creation. These include the generation of background network traffic, the generation of malicious cyber threat attack paths, the population of existing networks with potential vulnerabilities of interest, etc.

This is an opportunity to conduct research of high importance, with close involvement from industry (namely British Telecom (BT), who are partially funding this studentship) and to create strong research impact beyond academia. 

Eligibility and requirements 

You should have a postgraduate degree (e.g. MSc, MA) in Computer Science, or a related discipline (e.g. CyberSecurity, Data Science, Artificial Intelligence, Machine Learning). You should demonstrate aptitude for original research. 

Ability to program capably in different languages and frameworks (from AI frameworks, to Linux-based commands).

Ability to conduct independent research, including a critical assessment of their own and others’ research;

AI algorithms including those for Natural Language Processing;

Desirable experience

Understanding of cybersecurity concepts, especially penetration testing

Having published (or demonstrating the aptitude and enthusiasm to publish) high-quality papers in reputable peer-reviewed conferences and journals.

Studentship details:

Duration 4 years and will provide an annual stipend at current UKRI rate £20,622 per year and will cover the UK tuition fees. Sponsorship by BT will cover additional stipend amount up to £29,000 for UK students and for overseas students’ sponsorship will cover difference in overseas tuition fees for three years. Currently for academic year 2023/24 the difference is £12,740). In addition, there will be a generous budget (over £5k) for conference attendance.

Each student may be able to earn around £2,200/year through a teaching and demonstration work. 

How to apply

Submit applications via the course page, by clicking the 'Apply' button, above.

As part of your application, submit a statement of interest explaining why this PhD area interests you and how you meet the essential (and optionally the desirable) criteria above and a sample of your academic writing. This should be a single piece of work (e.g., an academic paper, dissertation or individual project, or coursework).

For queries on the application process, contact pgr.sst.enquire@city.ac.uk

We invite you to contact Dr. Ilir Gashi (Ilir.Gashi.1@city.ac.uk) by email to address any informal enquiries about the proposed research itself. 

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