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Cybersecurity Issue Forces a Major New Mexico Hospital to Divert Patients and Close Clinics

Securityweek •Associated Press • October 27, 2026

A major hospital network in New Mexico raced to fix a cybersecurity issue on Monday that forced it to send ambulances to other hospitals and left the state without an emergency department capable of treating the most serious injuries. The University of New Mexico Health System told people not to show up at its main hospital in Albuquerque and canceled appointments at its more than 30 clinics. It said it was working to resolve the issue, the extent and nature of which was not immediately clear. The hospital network conducts 900,000 outpatient visits and receives 100,000 emergency room visits each year, according to its website. It operates the state’s only Level 1 trauma center. Presbyterian Healthcare Services and Lovelace Health System, two other major healthcare providers in New Mexico, said they were coordinating with the UNM Health System, including taking additional patients. The UNM Health System said in a statement that its hospitals and clinics began resuming operations in phases later in the day. Multiple UNM Health System employees said they heard messages across their computers while working late Monday morning that claimed to have stolen student and employee data and patient information. A spokesperson for the health system wouldn’t , saying that the incident remains an active law enforcement investigation. FBI spokesperson Margot Cravens in Albuquerque said the agency was “assisting our partner” but declined further . The Associated Press left emails and phone messages seeking from the Bernalillo County Sheriff’s Office and the Albuquerque Police Department. The incident comes amid growing concern the security of digital systems that underpin essential services, from banking to medical care. Incidents affecting hospitals, including demands for ransom. have been going on for a decade, said Josephine Wolff, a professor of cybersecurity policy at Tufts University. Breaching a system to play a message on computers is pretty unusual, Wolff said. Monday’s incident, she said, shows “how much work we still have to do to get better at defending ourselves.” On Monday afternoon, at the main entrance to its Albuquerque hospital, employees in turquoise staff shirts sat on chairs that blocked the waiting room and told patients their appointments might be canceled. At a medical center in the Albuquerque suburb of Rio Rancho, two security guards at the entrance told patients arriving for appointments to reschedule. UNM’s Health Sciences Center, the state’s largest academic medical center, canceled classes Monday. Related : Cyberattacks on Hospitals Are Likely to Increase, Putting Lives at Risk, Experts Warn

The University of New Mexico Health System told people not to show up at its main hospital in Albuquerque and canceled appointments at its more than 30 clinics. It said it was working to resolve the issue, the extent and nature of which was not immediately clear. The hospital network conducts 900,000 outpatient visits and receives 100,000 emergency room visits each year, according to its website. It operates the state’s only Level 1 trauma center. Presbyterian Healthcare Services and Lovelace Health System, two other major healthcare providers in New Mexico, said they were coordinating with the UNM Health System, including taking additional patients. The UNM Health System said in a statement that its hospitals and clinics began resuming operations in phases later in the day. Multiple UNM Health System employees said they heard messages across their computers while working late Monday morning that claimed to have stolen student and employee data and patient information. A spokesperson for the health system wouldn’t , saying that the incident remains an active law enforcement investigation. FBI spokesperson Margot Cravens in Albuquerque said the agency was “assisting our partner” but declined further . The Associated Press left emails and phone messages seeking from the Bernalillo County Sheriff’s Office and the Albuquerque Police Department. The incident comes amid growing concern the security of digital systems that underpin essential services, from banking to medical care. Incidents affecting hospitals, including demands for ransom. have been going on for a decade, said Josephine Wolff, a professor of cybersecurity policy at Tufts University. Breaching a system to play a message on computers is pretty unusual, Wolff said. Monday’s incident, she said, shows “how much work we still have to do to get better at defending ourselves.” On Monday afternoon, at the main entrance to its Albuquerque hospital, employees in turquoise staff shirts sat on chairs that blocked the waiting room and told patients their appointments might be canceled. At a medical center in the Albuquerque suburb of Rio Rancho, two security guards at the entrance told patients arriving for appointments to reschedule. UNM’s Health Sciences Center, the state’s largest academic medical center, canceled classes Monday. Related : Cyberattacks on Hospitals Are Likely to Increase, Putting Lives at Risk, Experts Warn

The hospital network conducts 900,000 outpatient visits and receives 100,000 emergency room visits each year, according to its website. It operates the state’s only Level 1 trauma center. Presbyterian Healthcare Services and Lovelace Health System, two other major healthcare providers in New Mexico, said they were coordinating with the UNM Health System, including taking additional patients. The UNM Health System said in a statement that its hospitals and clinics began resuming operations in phases later in the day. Multiple UNM Health System employees said they heard messages across their computers while working late Monday morning that claimed to have stolen student and employee data and patient information. A spokesperson for the health system wouldn’t , saying that the incident remains an active law enforcement investigation. FBI spokesperson Margot Cravens in Albuquerque said the agency was “assisting our partner” but declined further . The Associated Press left emails and phone messages seeking from the Bernalillo County Sheriff’s Office and the Albuquerque Police Department. The incident comes amid growing concern the security of digital systems that underpin essential services, from banking to medical care. Incidents affecting hospitals, including demands for ransom. have been going on for a decade, said Josephine Wolff, a professor of cybersecurity policy at Tufts University. Breaching a system to play a message on computers is pretty unusual, Wolff said. Monday’s incident, she said, shows “how much work we still have to do to get better at defending ourselves.” On Monday afternoon, at the main entrance to its Albuquerque hospital, employees in turquoise staff shirts sat on chairs that blocked the waiting room and told patients their appointments might be canceled. At a medical center in the Albuquerque suburb of Rio Rancho, two security guards at the entrance told patients arriving for appointments to reschedule. UNM’s Health Sciences Center, the state’s largest academic medical center, canceled classes Monday. Related : Cyberattacks on Hospitals Are Likely to Increase, Putting Lives at Risk, Experts Warn

Presbyterian Healthcare Services and Lovelace Health System, two other major healthcare providers in New Mexico, said they were coordinating with the UNM Health System, including taking additional patients. The UNM Health System said in a statement that its hospitals and clinics began resuming operations in phases later in the day. Multiple UNM Health System employees said they heard messages across their computers while working late Monday morning that claimed to have stolen student and employee data and patient information. A spokesperson for the health system wouldn’t , saying that the incident remains an active law enforcement investigation. FBI spokesperson Margot Cravens in Albuquerque said the agency was “assisting our partner” but declined further . The Associated Press left emails and phone messages seeking from the Bernalillo County Sheriff’s Office and the Albuquerque Police Department. The incident comes amid growing concern the security of digital systems that underpin essential services, from banking to medical care. Incidents affecting hospitals, including demands for ransom. have been going on for a decade, said Josephine Wolff, a professor of cybersecurity policy at Tufts University. Breaching a system to play a message on computers is pretty unusual, Wolff said. Monday’s incident, she said, shows “how much work we still have to do to get better at defending ourselves.” On Monday afternoon, at the main entrance to its Albuquerque hospital, employees in turquoise staff shirts sat on chairs that blocked the waiting room and told patients their appointments might be canceled. At a medical center in the Albuquerque suburb of Rio Rancho, two security guards at the entrance told patients arriving for appointments to reschedule. UNM’s Health Sciences Center, the state’s largest academic medical center, canceled classes Monday. Related : Cyberattacks on Hospitals Are Likely to Increase, Putting Lives at Risk, Experts Warn

The UNM Health System said in a statement that its hospitals and clinics began resuming operations in phases later in the day. Multiple UNM Health System employees said they heard messages across their computers while working late Monday morning that claimed to have stolen student and employee data and patient information. A spokesperson for the health system wouldn’t , saying that the incident remains an active law enforcement investigation. FBI spokesperson Margot Cravens in Albuquerque said the agency was “assisting our partner” but declined further . The Associated Press left emails and phone messages seeking from the Bernalillo County Sheriff’s Office and the Albuquerque Police Department. The incident comes amid growing concern the security of digital systems that underpin essential services, from banking to medical care. Incidents affecting hospitals, including demands for ransom. have been going on for a decade, said Josephine Wolff, a professor of cybersecurity policy at Tufts University. Breaching a system to play a message on computers is pretty unusual, Wolff said. Monday’s incident, she said, shows “how much work we still have to do to get better at defending ourselves.” On Monday afternoon, at the main entrance to its Albuquerque hospital, employees in turquoise staff shirts sat on chairs that blocked the waiting room and told patients their appointments might be canceled. At a medical center in the Albuquerque suburb of Rio Rancho, two security guards at the entrance told patients arriving for appointments to reschedule. UNM’s Health Sciences Center, the state’s largest academic medical center, canceled classes Monday. Related : Cyberattacks on Hospitals Are Likely to Increase, Putting Lives at Risk, Experts Warn

Multiple UNM Health System employees said they heard messages across their computers while working late Monday morning that claimed to have stolen student and employee data and patient information. A spokesperson for the health system wouldn’t , saying that the incident remains an active law enforcement investigation. FBI spokesperson Margot Cravens in Albuquerque said the agency was “assisting our partner” but declined further . The Associated Press left emails and phone messages seeking from the Bernalillo County Sheriff’s Office and the Albuquerque Police Department. The incident comes amid growing concern the security of digital systems that underpin essential services, from banking to medical care. Incidents affecting hospitals, including demands for ransom. have been going on for a decade, said Josephine Wolff, a professor of cybersecurity policy at Tufts University. Breaching a system to play a message on computers is pretty unusual, Wolff said. Monday’s incident, she said, shows “how much work we still have to do to get better at defending ourselves.” On Monday afternoon, at the main entrance to its Albuquerque hospital, employees in turquoise staff shirts sat on chairs that blocked the waiting room and told patients their appointments might be canceled. At a medical center in the Albuquerque suburb of Rio Rancho, two security guards at the entrance told patients arriving for appointments to reschedule. UNM’s Health Sciences Center, the state’s largest academic medical center, canceled classes Monday. Related : Cyberattacks on Hospitals Are Likely to Increase, Putting Lives at Risk, Experts Warn

A spokesperson for the health system wouldn’t , saying that the incident remains an active law enforcement investigation. FBI spokesperson Margot Cravens in Albuquerque said the agency was “assisting our partner” but declined further . The Associated Press left emails and phone messages seeking from the Bernalillo County Sheriff’s Office and the Albuquerque Police Department. The incident comes amid growing concern the security of digital systems that underpin essential services, from banking to medical care. Incidents affecting hospitals, including demands for ransom. have been going on for a decade, said Josephine Wolff, a professor of cybersecurity policy at Tufts University. Breaching a system to play a message on computers is pretty unusual, Wolff said. Monday’s incident, she said, shows “how much work we still have to do to get better at defending ourselves.” On Monday afternoon, at the main entrance to its Albuquerque hospital, employees in turquoise staff shirts sat on chairs that blocked the waiting room and told patients their appointments might be canceled. At a medical center in the Albuquerque suburb of Rio Rancho, two security guards at the entrance told patients arriving for appointments to reschedule. UNM’s Health Sciences Center, the state’s largest academic medical center, canceled classes Monday. Related : Cyberattacks on Hospitals Are Likely to Increase, Putting Lives at Risk, Experts Warn

The Associated Press left emails and phone messages seeking from the Bernalillo County Sheriff’s Office and the Albuquerque Police Department. The incident comes amid growing concern the security of digital systems that underpin essential services, from banking to medical care. Incidents affecting hospitals, including demands for ransom. have been going on for a decade, said Josephine Wolff, a professor of cybersecurity policy at Tufts University. Breaching a system to play a message on computers is pretty unusual, Wolff said. Monday’s incident, she said, shows “how much work we still have to do to get better at defending ourselves.” On Monday afternoon, at the main entrance to its Albuquerque hospital, employees in turquoise staff shirts sat on chairs that blocked the waiting room and told patients their appointments might be canceled. At a medical center in the Albuquerque suburb of Rio Rancho, two security guards at the entrance told patients arriving for appointments to reschedule. UNM’s Health Sciences Center, the state’s largest academic medical center, canceled classes Monday. Related : Cyberattacks on Hospitals Are Likely to Increase, Putting Lives at Risk, Experts Warn

The incident comes amid growing concern the security of digital systems that underpin essential services, from banking to medical care. Incidents affecting hospitals, including demands for ransom. have been going on for a decade, said Josephine Wolff, a professor of cybersecurity policy at Tufts University. Breaching a system to play a message on computers is pretty unusual, Wolff said. Monday’s incident, she said, shows “how much work we still have to do to get better at defending ourselves.” On Monday afternoon, at the main entrance to its Albuquerque hospital, employees in turquoise staff shirts sat on chairs that blocked the waiting room and told patients their appointments might be canceled. At a medical center in the Albuquerque suburb of Rio Rancho, two security guards at the entrance told patients arriving for appointments to reschedule. UNM’s Health Sciences Center, the state’s largest academic medical center, canceled classes Monday. Related : Cyberattacks on Hospitals Are Likely to Increase, Putting Lives at Risk, Experts Warn

Incidents affecting hospitals, including demands for ransom. have been going on for a decade, said Josephine Wolff, a professor of cybersecurity policy at Tufts University. Breaching a system to play a message on computers is pretty unusual, Wolff said. Monday’s incident, she said, shows “how much work we still have to do to get better at defending ourselves.” On Monday afternoon, at the main entrance to its Albuquerque hospital, employees in turquoise staff shirts sat on chairs that blocked the waiting room and told patients their appointments might be canceled. At a medical center in the Albuquerque suburb of Rio Rancho, two security guards at the entrance told patients arriving for appointments to reschedule. UNM’s Health Sciences Center, the state’s largest academic medical center, canceled classes Monday. Related : Cyberattacks on Hospitals Are Likely to Increase, Putting Lives at Risk, Experts Warn

Breaching a system to play a message on computers is pretty unusual, Wolff said. Monday’s incident, she said, shows “how much work we still have to do to get better at defending ourselves.” On Monday afternoon, at the main entrance to its Albuquerque hospital, employees in turquoise staff shirts sat on chairs that blocked the waiting room and told patients their appointments might be canceled. At a medical center in the Albuquerque suburb of Rio Rancho, two security guards at the entrance told patients arriving for appointments to reschedule. UNM’s Health Sciences Center, the state’s largest academic medical center, canceled classes Monday. Related : Cyberattacks on Hospitals Are Likely to Increase, Putting Lives at Risk, Experts Warn

On Monday afternoon, at the main entrance to its Albuquerque hospital, employees in turquoise staff shirts sat on chairs that blocked the waiting room and told patients their appointments might be canceled. At a medical center in the Albuquerque suburb of Rio Rancho, two security guards at the entrance told patients arriving for appointments to reschedule. UNM’s Health Sciences Center, the state’s largest academic medical center, canceled classes Monday. Related : Cyberattacks on Hospitals Are Likely to Increase, Putting Lives at Risk, Experts Warn

At a medical center in the Albuquerque suburb of Rio Rancho, two security guards at the entrance told patients arriving for appointments to reschedule. UNM’s Health Sciences Center, the state’s largest academic medical center, canceled classes Monday. Related : Cyberattacks on Hospitals Are Likely to Increase, Putting Lives at Risk, Experts Warn

UNM’s Health Sciences Center, the state’s largest academic medical center, canceled classes Monday. Related : Cyberattacks on Hospitals Are Likely to Increase, Putting Lives at Risk, Experts Warn

Related : Cyberattacks on Hospitals Are Likely to Increase, Putting Lives at Risk, Experts Warn

The full story

This article is one source in a clustered incident — the cluster page carries the summary, timeline and every other outlet covering it.

Cyberattack Disrupts UNM Health Services, Diverts Ambulances On October 26, 2026, the University of New Mexico Health Sciences Center experienced a significant cybersecurity incident that led to the cancellation of all appointments and the diversion of ambulance traffic to other hospitals. The attack affected the entire UNM Health system, prompting the cancellation of classes at the School of Medicine, College of Pharmacy, College of Nursing, and College of Population Health. Hospital officials reported that the IT team took immediate steps to contain the incident and notified law enforcement. During the incident, a message was reportedly broadcast to hospital workers' computers, threatening to compromise sensitive data. By 2:30 p.m., operations began to resume in phases as systems were brought back online. Classes and outpatient services were canceled for the following day, October 27, 2026. The full scope of the attack and the specific attack vector remain under investigation. 5 sources 54

Extracted Entities

Cybersecurity Issue Forces a Major New Mexico Hospital to Divert Patients and Close Clinics

The full story

Extracted Entities

Attack Types (1)

Companies (3)

Industries (1)

MITRE ATT&CK (1)