Doctoral student in Remote Fault Attacks on Cryptographic Algorithms KTH Royal Institute of Technology in Sweden

Doctoral student in Remote Fault Attacks on Cryptographic Algorithms at KTH Royal Institute of Technology in Stockholm, Sweden.

This PhD project sits in the Hardware Security group and focuses on an important open problem in cryptographic implementation security: how to protect implementations of cryptographic algorithms against fault attacks, especially remote attacks. The research combines offensive and defensive perspectives, aiming both to devise new attack techniques and to design countermeasures that can withstand increasingly powerful adversaries. A key goal is to build fault resistance into cryptographic implementations at the design stage, rather than reacting after vulnerabilities have been found.

The successful doctoral student will investigate the use of advanced machine learning to improve both the analysis and mitigation of fault attacks. The work is expected to lead to new methods for vulnerability assessment, new countermeasures, and supporting tools. The project explicitly connects mathematical and electrical engineering problems and is positioned within KTH’s broader third-cycle subject area of Information and Communication Technology.

The position is supervised by Prof. Elena Dubrova and Prof. Carl-Mikael Zetterling. It is funded by the Swedish Research Council and follows KTH’s doctoral student salary agreement. KTH notes that an employed doctoral student may, to a limited extent, carry out teaching and administration duties, and that the employment is normally renewed after one year and then for up to two years at a time within the standard four-year doctoral study period.

Eligibility requirements are substantial. Applicants must meet Swedish postgraduate admission requirements through a second-cycle degree, sufficient higher-education credits, or equivalent knowledge. The special qualifications include knowledge of cryptographic algorithms, expertise in fault and side-channel attacks, experience with embedded systems, and practical machine learning skills including tools such as TensorFlow. English proficiency equivalent to English B/6 is required. In selection, KTH also values personal qualities such as being goal-oriented, persevering, able to work independently and collaboratively, professional, and capable of communicating research effectively in writing and presentations.

Priority is given to candidates who have taken coursework in hardware security, completed a bachelor’s or master’s thesis in hardware security, or published in high-ranked hardware security journals, conferences, or workshops.

Applications must be submitted through KTH’s recruitment system by the stated deadline. Required documents include diplomas and transcripts, proof of language qualifications, a CV, a motivation/application letter, and representative publications or technical reports. The position was published on 2026-09-03 and the application deadline is 2026-10-10 at 23:59 local time.