‘My university project will improve digital access for MS patients’

Snow White is currently completing her BSc (Hons) in Ethical Hacking at Abertay University. Her research focuses on improving the accessibility and security of authentication and account recovery systems, particularly for individuals living with neurological conditions such as multiple sclerosis (MS).

There’s a lot of work to do to improve digital access for MS patients. according to Snow, who tells us more here…

Seeing how MS can affect everyday activities made me think more deeply about how digital systems could better support people.

Many digital security systems are designed with a ‘typical’ user in mind. However, people living with MS can experience symptoms such as fatigue, memory difficulties, and challenges with coordination or vision. These symptoms can make common tasks like entering passwords, typing in verification codes, or following multi-step recovery processes more difficult and more tiring.

When systems rely on speed, memory, or precise input, they can become frustrating or inaccessible. As a result, users may make more mistakes, get locked out of their accounts, or abandon the process altogether.

These challenges don’t just affect usability they can create real security risks. When systems are difficult to use, people are more likely to make mistakes or rely on unsafe workarounds, increasing the risk of losing access to their accounts or exposing personal information.

To explore this issue, I looked at how authentication and account recovery systems can fail not just from a technical perspective, but from a user’s point of view.

I used established cybersecurity approaches (known as STRIDE and LINDDUN) to identify potential risks. STRIDE is used to identify common security threats, such as someone pretending to be another user or gaining unauthorised access to an account, while LINDDUN focuses on privacy risks, such as personal information being exposed or misused.

I then adapted these approaches to focus specifically on the experiences of people living with MS. This meant considering how symptoms could influence how people interact with security systems.

This process helped highlight risks that are often overlooked particularly those caused by confusing instructions, time pressure, or complex steps.

For example, complex or confusing account recovery processes can make users more vulnerable to phishing attempts, while repeated login failures can lead to account lockouts or encourage unsafe behaviours like password reuse.

To address such risks, I developed a working prototype of a login and account recovery system.

Several key design choices were incorporated into my prototype including clear, simple language instead of technical or security-focused terminology, fewer steps and less information to remember, reducing cognitive load, no time pressure, allowing users to complete tasks at their own pace, consistent system responses, avoiding messages that reveal sensitive information and supportive error messages that guide users rather than locking them out.

This project highlights an important idea: accessibility and security are closely connected, rather than separate concerns.

For people living with MS, small design choices in everyday systems such as login pages or account recovery processes can have a real impact on independence, confidence, and digital inclusion. Improving these experiences can reduce frustration, prevent account loss, and help ensure that people are not excluded from essential online services.

More broadly, this approach shows that designing with accessibility in mind can benefit everyone. Clearer instructions, simpler processes, and reduced cognitive load improve the experience for all users, not just those with specific conditions.

Inclusive design is not a compromise it is a foundation for stronger and safer digital systems.

Snow’s supervisor, Dr Lynsay Shepherd, said: ‘Authentication should never act as a barrier to accessing digital services. Designing inclusive  and accessible security mechanisms for those living with conditions such as multiple sclerosis is essential to making cybersecurity truly human-centred; this is demonstrated by the prototype Snow has been working on at Abertay University.’

If you’d like to help Snow with further research please reach out to her at mozardsghost@gmail.com