How I Became Brazil's First Visually Impaired Cybersecurity Graduate — and Changed Vulnerability Research
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Juan Mathews Rebello Santos shares his journey becoming Brazil's first visually impaired cybersecurity graduate and the first totally blind researcher to publish a CVE in the U.S. National Vulnerability Database. Born prematurely and fully blind by age nine, he navigated inaccessible university systems, discovered vulnerabilities in Google, Microsoft, Nubank, and Smiles using only a screen reader, and published CVE-2025-26326 in NVDA Remote add-ons. He also founded BNVD.org, a Portuguese-language alternative to the NVD, authored Brazil's first cybersecurity book by a visually impaired person, and holds 50+ certifications. The post candidly addresses the real accessibility barriers blind professionals face in tech — from inaccessible websites and mobile apps to 500+ job applications with zero callbacks — and advocates for inclusive design as a professional necessity, not a niche accommodation.
