PhD researcher 'EU Data Liability'

The Tilburg Institute for Law, Technology, and Society (TILT) is looking for a PhD Researcher in the area of EU data liability who has a strong interest in combining a data protection and an economic law perspective on issues relating to liability for the collection and use of data in the context of cybersecurity. This position is part of the INTERSECT project.

Your position 
INTERSECT holds that when building security-by-design, security-by-default, robustness, and resilience into IoT devices themselves is not possible, we must also have legal, regulatory, and governance capabilities to address or prevent potential threats. In the last years, the EU has adopted a number of legislative instruments to regulate the collection and use of data. These instruments combine different policy objectives, from the protection of the personal data of individuals (the General Data Protection Regulation) and the protection of cybersecurity (e.g. the NIS2 Directive and the Cyber Resilience Act) to the promotion of the exchange and reuse of data (Data Governance Act, Data Act, and the future European data spaces in the domain of economic law). The increasingly complex and piecemeal EU regulatory framework applicable to data raises questions about its overall coherence and its ability to effectively regulate the collection and use of data, both from the perspective of the substance of the rules as well as the mechanisms of enforcement. For instance, how to balance privacy interests of individuals versus collective and societal interests in competition and innovation, especially in the context of cybersecurity? Can any overarching principles be established regarding liability for the collection and use of data, and would such principles need to be sector-specific or are they valid across the economy? How can data protection, cybersecurity and competition authorities within and across EU Member States collaborate to enforce the applicable rules relating to data?

The selected candidate will have the freedom to select and develop their own topic within the area of EU data liability, in agreement with the project supervisors. As part of the application, the candidates are expected to submit a research statement describing the topic of their choice and explaining how it fits into the background sketched above. A requirement is to combine a data protection with an economic law perspective, in the context of cybersecurity.

The PhD project will be supervised by prof. dr. Eleni Kosta and dr. Inge Graef.

About the project: An Internet of Secure Things – INTERSECT
The Internet-of-Things (IoT), which seamlessly connects the digital and the physical world, is turning out to be one of the weakest spots in the global digital infrastructure. Billions of physical devices with computing and networking capabilities both exacerbate the privacy and security risks of ‘traditional’ IT settings and create an entirely new threat surface. A pervasive cyber-physical system of systems, entwined with a myriad of IoT devices, will oversee our lives and economy, while at the same time, from a privacy and security perspective, being completely unmanageable at scale.

The amount, heterogeneity, and varying longevity of IoT devices challenges conventional information, application, and network security practices. It constitutes a serious threat to our ability to safeguard individuals’ security and safety, on the one hand, and their privacy and data protection rights, on the other hand. IoT devices are different from traditional computing infrastructure in that they are oftentimes dispersed across large geographical areas, even when operated by the same entity, which renders updating and fixing them oftentimes complicated and costly. Their product support lifespan is frequently shorter than the period during which they are used or installed, which results in a plethora of old devices riddled with vulnerabilities and ripe for exploitation deployed in the wild. The IoT category is also extremely heterogeneous and diverse when compared to ‘traditional’ computing infrastructures: the intermixture of millions of disparate IoT devices and applications, manufactured and managed in countries all over the globe, compounds the challenges of supervising, handling, and controlling the cyber-physical domain.

The INTERSECT project thus holds that traditional security paradigms, based on targeted solutions developed and deployed specifically for each system, are doomed to eventually fail. Such assessment is compounded by the fact that such a heterogeneous, complex, and globe-spanning environment is easily mismanaged by its human component. The INTERSECT project maintains that, from a technological perspective, there is the need to re-think the security paradigm, delegating part of the security management to the system that needs to autonomously adapt to the changing environment, while remaining under our supervision. When designing or engineering these properties into the devices themselves is not possible, we must be able to resort to other kinds of capabilities, such as the ones deriving from legislation, or from other regulatory and governance instruments.

Tilburg University is curious about how you can contribute to our research, education, impact, and to the team you will be part of. Therefore, we would like to get the best possible picture of your knowledge, insight, skills, and personality. Below you can find the qualifications we consider important for the position.

The candidate:

• holds a bachelor degree in law;
• has completed a master’s degree in law and has a good understanding of the regulation of data in the EU (including for instance, the GDPR, the Data Governance Act, or the Data Act);
• has an interest in questions regarding liability for the collection and use of data and the regulation of the data-driven society from a data protection, cybersecurity and economic law perspective;
• has an excellent written and spoken command of English;
• has interest in working in an interdisciplinary environment, and wants to contribute to the broader TILT and INTERSECT communities;
• has interest in teaching and supervising students at Bachelor and Master level (e.g., tutorial groups, thesis supervision).

To maintain a vibrant and active university community, it is important that we meet each other regularly and that the connection between us remains good. Therefore, the premise is that all staff members carry out their work in the Netherlands and that eventual education tasks are carried out physically.

What do we offer?
Tilburg University offers excellent terms of employment with attention to flexibility and room for (personal) development. We recognize and reward our employees and encourage the use of talents and strengths.

Tilburg University is committed to an open and inclusive culture, embracing diversity, and encouraging the mutual integration of groups of staff and students. We create equal opportunities for all our staff and students so that everyone feels at home in our university community.

We work in a vibrant and lively (work) environment on our beautiful campus, close to the forest and easily accessible by public transport. We are committed to a sustainable society and challenge you to make an active contribution to this.

Tilburg University offers excellent benefits in a pleasant working environment:

• A position based on 1.0 FTE (40 hours per week). 
• A salary of minimum of €2.901 gross per month for full-time employment, based on UFO profile Promovendus and salary scale P. Tilburg University uses a neutral remuneration system based on relevant education and work experience. 
• It is a vacancy for a temporary position in accordance with Article 2.3 paragraph 8 of the CLA for Dutch universities. You will be given a temporary employment contract for the duration of 16 months. Upon proven suitability and continuation in the same position, you will receive a subsequent employment contract after this period that can be extended to a maximum duration of 48 months;
• A great opportunity to gain experience in research as well as in teaching because we like to see you spend about 80% of your time on research and 20% of your time in education tasks;
• Vacation pay of 8% and a year-end bonus of 8.3%. 
• Over 8 weeks of vacation leave. 
• Reimbursement for sustainable commuting: walking, cycling, and public transportation. 
• A monthly internet fee of €25.
• An Options Model in which you exchange benefits for things such as additional leave, more pension, a bicycle or personal training at our Sports Center. 
• Employees from outside the Netherlands may be eligible for the 30/20/10% tax facility.
• A pension with ABP; the most sustainable Dutch pension fund.
• Training in personal development, career development, leadership, education, and research or a language course at our Language Center. 

For more information, see our website and the Collective Labour Agreement of Dutch Universities

Tilburg University is an academic, inclusive, and engaged community. Together with nearly 3,000 employees, we are committed to broad prosperity, sustainably, and inclusion. For current and future generations. We develop and share knowledge for the requirements of people and our society. This is how we contribute to solving complex social issues and help society move forward.

We educate our 19,500 students of 110 nationalities to become responsible leaders with knowledge, skills, and character. With our education and research for broad prosperity, we exceedingly focus on themes such as mental and preventive care, an inclusive labor market, the energy transition, and digitalization.

About Tilburg Law School
Since its founding in 1963, Tilburg Law School has become one of the leading law schools in Europe.  Through top research and the provision of high-quality university education, the School contributes to society. Tilburg Law School is organized into five Departments: Public Law and Governance; Tilburg Institute for Law, Technology, Markets and Society; Private, Business and Labour Law; the Fiscal Institute Tilburg; and Criminal Law. The mission of the School is to understand and improve the role of law and public administration in addressing the social problems of today and tomorrow. Through research and education, our scholars contribute to that mission.

More than 4,000 students pursue a Bachelor's, pre-Master's or Master's degree at Tilburg Law School. Through this education, we train students in law, public administration, and data science. The Tilburg Educational Profile (TEP) is unique in the Netherlands. Central to it are three core concepts: knowledge, skills, and character. A university education provides students with the latest substantive knowledge and trains them to be critical thinkers and resilient professionals. In addition, the School is committed to innovative educational concepts and, partly in response to the coronavirus crisis, has invested heavily in the quality of online education and in innovative didactic tools to make and keep students inquisitive.

Tilburg Law School's research is highly regarded nationally and internationally. The Tilburg Law School Departments work closely together in their research in four signature research programs: 1) Global Law and Governance; 2) Crime, Criminal Justice and Vulnerability; 3) Connecting Responsible Organizations; and 4) Regulating Socio-Technical Change.

About TILT
The Department Tilburg Institute for Law, Technology and Science (TILT) is home to education and research on the effects of socio-technical change on the regulation and governance of economic activities in an era where information technology is a key driver of innovation. TILT is one of the leading research groups in Europe at the intersection of law, technology, and society. It is premised on the multidisciplinary study of socio-technical change, aiming at understanding the interaction of technology and social and normative practices in order to clarify how regulatory challenges of socio-technical change can be addressed.

Would you like to know more before applying? Feel free to contact Prof. Dr. Eleni Kosta at e.kosta@tilburguniversity.edu.

We cordially invite you to apply before 20 June; this can only be done online. Address your cover letter to Prof. Dr. Eleni Kosta and attach your CV. In order to make a good selection, we also ask you to provide the following documents: 

1. Motivation letter.
2. Curriculum Vitae.
3. Research statement of up to 1500 words (excluding bibliography), describing which topic you would like to explore in the PhD within the area mentioned above. The research statement should include a research question, an explanation of the novelty of the chosen topic, and the objectives of the research. Please also add a bibliography with the main sources available on your topic. The bibliography does not count towards the 1500 words.
4. Grade lists
5. An academic piece of research (thesis, assignment) written by you
6. Contact information of two referees (including name, phone number, and e-mail address). We only approach referees for candidates who go to the second selection round.