====================================================================== == POST-DOC POSITION == == available at == == France Telecom Research and Development == ====================================================================== A post-doctoral scholarship is available in the area of operating systems security at the Distributed Systems Architecture department of France Telecom Research in Grenoble.
Context ------- Our department investigates the construction of flexible software infrastructures running in various telecommunications environments such as mobile phone terminals, PDAs and other embedded devices, or network equipments. The aim is to develop building blocks for the next generation information networks of France Telecom, and the deployment of future services (online multi-user games in large scale shared virtual worlds, hypermedia information services, group communication, electronic commerce). Key requirements for those software components are to be easily administered and take into account various QoS constraints including real-time, reliability, and security. End-to-end security guarantees require strong protection mechanisms up to the lowest software layers, i.e., at the operating system level. We currently work on a component-based approach for the development of secure infrastructures for embedded systems, where individual security components can be plugged in and out of more general security architectures. Our department has developped a minimal software framework called THINK (THink Is Not a Kernel) for component-based operating system kernels. This software framework based on components provides flexibility which encourages code re-use and reduces development time. Three key concepts are exploited: components, bindings (which model interactions) and domains (which model isolation). The approach allows various kernel infrastructures to be built either statically or dynamically, ranging from micro-kernels through to classical monolithic kernels and application-specific kernels. The THINK implementation includes an open source library of operating system components called Kortex, which provides commonly used kernel components for building operating systems, including low-level services such as drivers, and high-level services such as thread management and network connections. Arbitrary compositions of these components result in the required kernel infrastructure. Job Description --------------- The main task of the candidate will be to develop building blocks for a security architecture based on the THINK platform. Activities could include: - Propose architectural solutions for the design of a component-based security framework taking advantage of the THINK architecture. - Design and implement individual security components, for instance authentication and/or authorization services, or interfaces to secure hardware elements like smart cards. Potential target platforms could include PDAs or mobile phones. The position offers an opportunity for innovative and collaborative research in operating systems security in an industrial context. The minimal character of the THINK kernel could allow to achieve a long-term challenge: develop an embedded operating system with a high degree of certification, e.g., w.r.t. Common Criteria. The ideal candidate should have a strong background and/or experience in operating systems and computer security, but applicants with skills in only one of those areas are also most welcome. The deadline for applications is April, 15th 2003. Applications must include a CV and a list of publications. Contact ------- If you are interested, please contact: -- Jean-Philippe Fassino Tel: (33) 4 76 76 45 52 Fax: (33) 4 76 76 45 57 E-mail: [EMAIL PROTECTED] -- Marc Lacoste Tel: (33) 4 76 76 41 67 Fax: (33) 4 76 76 45 57 E-mail: [EMAIL PROTECTED] ******************************************************************* Marc Lacoste Distributed Systems Architecture Department Software Techniques Division (DTL/ASR) France Telecom R&D 28, chemin du Vieux-Ch�ne BP 98 , 38243 Meylan Cedex France Tel: +33 4 76 76 41 67 Fax: +33 4 76 76 45 57 E-mail: [EMAIL PROTECTED] *******************************************************************
