The scientific research takes place in association with the University of Twente.

The digital threat to (inter)national security is permanent. Almost all vital processes and systems in the Netherlands are partially or completely digitized. The police co-operates with many parties within The Netherlands and abroad to increase cyber resilience to meet the increasing threat of cyber disruption. The approach of The Dutch police focuses on four topics: investing in scientific research, investigation, preventing & disrupting and supporting victims. There are special teams investigating banking fraud, child pornography and high-tech crime.

Job description
In a 4-year PhD project, you will investigate DDoS attacks, phishing emails and ransomware. Your task will be to examine ongoing or past attacks, classify them and investigate them. For that, you may have to collect traces from traffic dumps, e-mails and other kind of communication and potentially reverse engineer any kind of malware that is attached to those mails or used during the attacks.

• You have a MSc degree with excellent grades in computer science, (applied) mathematics, or similar; applications from students who are about to finish their MSc degree studies will be considered as well.
• You are specialized in the domain of cybersecurity; good programming skills and prior experience with writing scientific papers are of additional advantage.
• You have of knowledge of general information security.
• You are an independent and original thinker with a creative mindset.
• Familiarity with network forensics and malware reverse engineering is an advantage.
• You have good team spirit and like to work in an internationally oriented environment.
• You are fluent in Dutch and English.
• You are available to start as soon as possible.
• You are able to meet goals and deadlines set out in the project proposal.
• Complete a PhD thesis within the 4-year contract period.­
• Dutch nationality is required.

Fixed-term contract: 4 years.

• The Dutch National Police offers a fixed-term contract of 4 years.
• You will be employed by the Dutch National Police, Regional Police Unit East-Netherlands, department: Regional Information Service (Nationale Politie, Regionale Eenheid Oost-Nederland, Dienst Regionale Informatieorganisatie).
• The position corresponds with the following formal function within the Dutch Police: Gespecialiseerd Medewerker C.
• Salary will be paid according to scale 9 based on 36-hour workweek. The salary starts in the salary scale 9-1 will increase with one step every year.
• 8% holiday and 8.33% end-of-year bonus.
• Pension fund at ABP.
• Other conditions described in BARP and BBP.

Organisation of the Dutch police

The Dutch national police force consists of 10 Regional Units, the Central Unit and the Police Services Centre. The five-member Force Command has its own support section (Commissioner’s Staff).

Central Unit
In addition to its own independent tasks, the Central Unit also carries out specialist tasks in support of the Regional Units. The Unit’s Chief Constable is responsible for its day-to-day management. The Central Unit’s tasks include:

• monitoring, supporting and coordinating major operations;
• combating serious, organised forms of criminality of a national or international character which undermine the rule of law or vital infrastructure;
• providing security support in the fight against crime;
• deploying mounted police, sniffer dogs and forensic expertise;
• providing security and protection for members of the Royal House and other VIPs;
• carrying out and supporting police work on the motorways, the railway network, on the water and in the air;
• combating all forms of serious violence and terrorism (Special Interventions Division).

Regional Units
The national police force consists of 10 Regional Units. Each Unit is managed by a Chief Constable, and consists of districts divided into Frontline Teams. Each team provides basic police services in a municipality, part of a large municipality, or cluster of smaller ones. The teams, consisting of Constables and Senior Constables, neighbourhood police officers, detectives and one or more team chiefs, are responsible for ensuring that the neighbourhood, town or region is a safe and pleasant environment to live in. They answer calls for emergency assistance, patrol the streets, advise on crime prevention, resolve traffic-related issues, conduct basic investigative activities, assist the public, process official reports and share information within their networks.

Police Services Centre

The Police Services Centre (PDC) provides operational management services, such as finance, ICT, communications and human resources, leaving officers in the Regional Units free to spend more time on actual police work. Where possible, PDC staff are located at 1 of 3 central locations in the Netherlands.

Supervision of the national police force
The national police force is headed by the Commissioner. The Minister of Security and Justice has full ministerial accountability for the proper functioning of the police. The Security and Justice Inspectorate ensures that the police force performs its tasks properly.