After phishing test gone wrong, UC Santa Cruz apologizes for false alert about Ebola outbreak

UC Santa Cruz campus community members received an email Sunday warning them that a case of the Ebola virus had been detected on campus. No, the highly contagious, deadly disease hadn’t returned to the US nearly 10 years after worries about a worldwide outbreak. The email came from the university’s Information Security division and spread false information with the intent of training people not to fall for scam “phishing” emails.

The email’s subject line read, “Emergency Notification: Ebola Virus Case on Campus,” and was sent to campus employees.

In response, on Monday, UCSC Chief Information Security Officer Brian Hall emailed the campus community to apologize and emphasize that there was not an Ebola case on campus.

“The email content was not real and inappropriate as it caused unnecessary panic, potentially undermining trust in public health messaging,” he wrote. “We sincerely apologize for this oversight.”

Hall also addressed how the use of Ebola in the email “inadvertently perpetuated harmful information about South Africa.”

Ebola is a disease caused by a group of viruses, which if left untreated can be fatal. The group of viruses, called orthoebolaviruses, were first recorded in 1976 in the Democratic Republic of Congo, per the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Initially, symptoms can include fever and fatigue and over time can evolve to vomiting and bleeding.

Since the discovery in 1976, outbreaks have occurred in several African countries, including Uganda, South Sudan, Congo and Gabon, while imported cases have been reported in countries including South Africa and Mali. The largest outbreak occurred in countries across West Africa between 2014 and 2016.

Hall declined an interview and referred all questions to UCSC spokesman Scott Hernandez-Jason. Hernandez-Jason did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

This is a developing story; check back with Lookout for updates.

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