Darktrace funded studentships - 02
Loughborough UniversityLondon, United Kingdom
Course overview
PhD Studentship in Cyber Security and AI: Deepfake Attribution and Generative Model Fingerprinting for Disinformation Source Tracking Loughborough University is inviting applications for a Doctoral Studentship in association with our collaborative partner, Darktrace, a global leader in cyber security AI, to start in July or October 2026. AI generated deepfakes have dual use, they are capable of doing good in good hands but are equally able to cause harm to businesses, governments, and society in general. We see the rise of mis/disinformation spread on social media, where deepfakes have increasingly started to play a central role in this.
Generative AI for deepfake attribution and source tracking has the potential to offer mitigation strategies, where it will have a positive impact on helping law enforcement and platforms identify malicious actors and prevent future attacks. This PhD aims to design a system that not only detects deepfakes but also traces their origin and generative model fingerprint. As such, it examines answering the following research questions: 1) How can generative models be fingerprinted based on their output artifacts?
2) Can attribution techniques reliably identify the origin of deepfakes in real-world scenarios? 3) How can blockchain or distributed ledgers enhance media authenticity verification? The expected impact-driven research contributions from this PhD are a novel generative model fingerprinting framework for attribution; a secure provenance system for media authenticity; and guidelines for policy and platform integration to combat disinformation.
94% of Loughborough’s research impact is rated world-leading or internationally excellent. REF 2021
Key highlights
- Funded studentship in collaboration with cyber security AI firm Darktrace
- Research on fingerprinting generative AI models from their output artefacts
- Develops systems to detect deepfakes and trace their origin
- Explores blockchain and distributed ledgers for media authenticity verification
- Produces policy and platform guidelines to combat disinformation
- 94% of research impact rated world-leading or internationally excellent (REF 2021)
Entry requirements
- Degree: 1st — 1st
Scholarships
Alumni Bursary
10% of tuition fees which will be credited to the student’s tuition fee account.
Up to 10% of feesAlumni Discount
UK students: £1,500 tuition fee discount for one academic year. International students: £3,000 tuition fee discount for one academic year.
Care Leaver's Scholarship
Excellence Scholarships
UK students: £3,000 off tuition fees; International students: £6,000 off tuition fees which will be credited to the student’s tuition fee account.
International Sports Student Postgraduate Bursary
Our International Sports Student Postgraduate Bursary offers a £12,000 tuition fee discount (set against the tuition fees of your chosen postgraduate taught programme ONLY).
Up to £12,000London 10th Anniversary Award
£5,000 off tuition fees.
Up to £5,000Loughborough Business School Scholarship
£1,500 (UK students) and £3,000 (international students) off tuition fees which will be credited to the student’s tuition fee account.
MBA Progress with Purpose Scholarship
50% of tuition fees which will be credited to the student’s tuition fee account.
Up to 50% of feesQatari Ghanim Al-Muftah Excellence Scholarship
Careers this course leads to
- Cyber security researcher
- AI research scientist
- Digital forensics specialist
- Machine learning engineer
- Threat intelligence analyst
- University lecturer in computer science
Admission
Applications are made through AHZ at no cost. Share your transcripts, English test scores and personal statement, and your AHZ Counsellor will review your profile, submit your application to Loughborough University, and guide you through interview, offer, CAS and visa — right up to enrolment.
Ready to start?
Book a free consultation and we'll map your fastest route to a October 2026 place.