PhD position in Cross-Platform Tracking and privacy risks in LLMs

Cybersecurity Group

Internet Analytics Group

Deadline for receipt of applications: August 14, 2026 23:59 AoE (15 August 2026, 13:59h)

The Cybersecurity (https://networks.imdea.org/es/equipo/grupos-de-investigacion/cybersecurity-group/) and Internet Analytics Groups (https://networks.imdea.org/es/equipo/grupos-de-investigacion/internet-analytics-group/) led by Dr. Guillermo Suarez-Tangil (https://scholar.google.com/citations?hl=en&user;=182ZkIgAAAAJ) and Dr. Narseo Vallina-Rodriguez (https://scholar.google.com/citations?hl=en&user;=yOlNzfcAAAAJ) at IMDEA Networks Institute have a joint opening for one PhD student in the area of IoT Security and Privacy.

The research will involve both empirical and methodological contributions :
- Developing automated frameworks to detect and analyze cross-platform data flows using network measurements, static and dynamic app analysis , and large-scale testing infrastructures .
- Studying deterministic and probabilistic tracking mechanisms (e.g., shared identifiers, IP correlation,



fingerprinting (see [1]), or behavioral synchronization).
- Investigating how tracking companies and SDKs operate across device and ecosystem boundaries.
- Designing privacy-preserving countermeasures that balance usability, scalability, and effectiveness.

This PhD project offers the opportunity to make fundamental contributions to an emerging research field with high societal, regulatory, and industrial relevance , while working at the intersection of cybersecurity, privacy, data analysis, and network measurement . In fact, the Ph.D. candidate’s contributions will advance our ability to detect and understand how users are tracked across devices, apps, and ecosystems , providing empirical evidence and technical insights to shape privacy engineering and policy at a integral scale, with a special focus on the privacy risks of LM-based architectures.

The position offers:
- Full-time paid posi

📌 PhD position in Cross-Platform Tracking and privacy risks in LLMs (Madrid)
🏢 Fundación Imdea Networks
📍 Madrid