Critical Infrastructure Faculty Researcher

Idaho National Laboratory is hiring a Faculty Researcher to work on our Homeland Security team. Our team works a 9x80 schedule located out of our Engineering Research Office Building facility with every Friday off.

Provenance analysis, endorsed by the DARPA Transparent Computing program (DARPA-TC), is crucial for tracking causal relationships in the Cyber Kill Chain, pinpointing the origins and impacts of Advanced Persistent Threats (APT), even when detection occurs contextually (temporally and spatially) distant from the initial breach point. This is particularly important as modern control systems increasingly become targets of APT attacks, necessitating enhanced transparency. The complexity of provenance graphs, detailing benign and malicious interactions, often overwhelms investigators, impeding decision-making. Our approach involves automating the extraction of attack patterns, enhancing comprehension through natural language translation, and accelerating detection. We hypothesize that by addressing provenance-context complexity challenges in attacks on critical industrial control systems we can automate the extraction of attack patterns from extensive provenance graphs using formal methods to improve accuracy by 60%, translate these patterns into natural language for 5x better comprehension, and reduce real-time detection overhead by 40%. We will validate our methods by creating benchmark samples of Industrial Control System (ICS) attacks, facilitating direct comparisons with future research and advancing this vital field. To improve accuracy and understanding, we are pioneering the application of the formal provenance concept to the unique states and commands within ICS. This approach will enable more efficient use of government and private resources in defending critical infrastructure, and enhance the exploration of new hypotheses, concepts, and ideas in ICS security.

• PhD in Computer Science & Engineering or a closely related field.
• Experience supervising graduate students.
• Experience leading the development of novel security approaches for operational technology.
• Proven track record of publishing in top-tier venues such as CCS, Oakland, USENIX Security, or similar CORE A/A* conferences.
• Proven history of organizing conferences or workshops co-located at top-tier venues.
• Proven success in developing an externally funded research program.

Job Information:

• The pay range for this position is designed to match the selected candidates current university salary. At Idaho National Laboratory compensation decisions are determined using factors such as education, relevant experience, and other credentials.

Physical Requirements

While performing the duties of this classification, the employee is frequently required to stand, walk, sit, stoop, kneel, bend, use hands to handle materials, manipulate tools, keyboard and type, reach with hands and arms, and operate job related equipment. The employee must occasionally lift and/or move up to 25 pounds. Sufficient visual acuity and hearing capacity to perform the essential functions and interact with people is required. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions

Benefits and Relocation

• Medical, Dental, Vision, and Flexible Spending Accounts
• Paid time off (personal leave)
• Benefit eligibility subject multiple factors, including employment status and position classification.

INL is a science-based, applied engineering national laboratory dedicated to supporting the U.S. Department of Energy's mission in nuclear energy research, science, and national defense. With more than 5,000 scientists, researchers, and support staff, the laboratory works with national and international governments, universities and industry partners to discover new science and development technologies that underpin the nation's nuclear and renewable energy, national security, and environmental missions.

INL Mission
Our mission is to discover, demonstrate and secure innovative nuclear energy solutions, other clean energy options and critical infrastructure.

INL Vision
Our vision is to change the world's energy future and secure our nation's critical infrastructure.

Selective Service Requirements
To be eligible for employment at INL males born after December 31, 1959 must have registered with the Selective Service System (SSS). For more information see www.sss.gov.

Equal Employment Opportunity
Idaho National Laboratory (INL) is an Equal Employment Opportunity (EEO) employer. It is the policy of INL to provide equal employment opportunities to all qualified applicants without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, age, protected veteran or disabled status, or genetic information.

Reasonable Accommodation
We will ensure that individuals with disabilities are provided reasonable accommodation to participate in the job application or interview process, to perform essential job functions, and to receive other benefits and privileges of employment. Please contact us to request accommodation.

Other Information
When applying to positions please provide a resume and answer all questions on the following screens. Applicants, who fail to provide a resume or answer the questions, may be deemed ineligible for consideration.

INL does not accept resumes from third party vendors unsolicited.