When a health crisis captures global headlines, cybercriminals are rarely far behind. The Zika virus outbreak of 2016 was no exception.
As fears about the mosquito-borne virus spread across Brazil and beyond, security researchers at Symantec uncovered a malicious email campaign specifically designed to exploit public anxiety — using concern about Zika to deliver malware directly to people's computers.
The Setup: A Fake Health Alert
The scam emails were crafted to look like they came from Saúde Curiosa (Curious Health), a legitimate Brazilian health and wellness website. The subject line read: "ZIKA VIRUS! Isso mesmo, matando com água!" which translates to "Zika Virus! That's right, killing it with water!"
Inside the email, recipients were urged to click buttons labeled things like "Eliminating Mosquito! Click Here!" or "Instructions To Follow! Download!" Both the links and the attachment led to the same destination: a piece of malware called JS.Downloader, hosted on Dropbox. Once installed, this malware acted as a gateway, downloading additional malicious software onto the victim's computer.
More than 1,500 people had already clicked the infected links by the time Symantec reported it.
Why Brazil Was the Target
Brazil was the epicenter of the Zika outbreak, with the vast majority of global cases concentrated there. The WHO had declared Zika a Public Health Emergency of International Concern in February 2016, following a significant surge in birth defects in affected regions.
The timing made Brazil's population especially vulnerable to health-related phishing campaigns. People were actively seeking information and protective guidance, which made a convincing fake health alert all the more dangerous.
How to Protect Yourself
Symantec issued clear guidance at the time, which applies to any similar situation:
- For health information, go directly to official sources like the World Health Organization website
- Never click links or open attachments in unsolicited emails, even if the sender looks familiar
- Keep your security software updated and running
- Treat any email with urgent health warnings and download buttons as suspicious by default
This kind of social engineering exploiting fear and urgency to bypass people's better judgment is one of the oldest tricks in cybercrime. Whenever a major health scare or global crisis dominates the news cycle, expect a wave of phishing emails to follow within days.
Source: Symantec Security Response
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