UNM Health diverts ambulances and closes clinics after cyber incident
Original title: UNM Health Shuts Clinics and Diverts Patients During Security Incident
The October 26 event hit some end-user devices, spared core servers, and care was restored the next day.
On October 26, 2026, the University of New Mexico Health System diverted ambulances, canceled appointments at more than 30 clinics, and told patients not to come to its Albuquerque facilities during a cybersecurity incident. UNM Health, which runs New Mexico’s only Level 1 trauma center, said IT identified the threat around 11 a.m.; it affected some end-user devices but not core systems or servers. Outpatient surgeries were suspended, classes were canceled, and neighboring systems took patients. Hospitals, ambulances, and clinics were back to normal the next day. The case remains under criminal investigation.
Unconfirmed: Employees reported messages claiming patient, student, and staff data were stolen; UNM has not confirmed that, and the attack type is not stated.
- UNM stopped accepting new patients from 12:30 to 2:30 p.m. while protecting the network.
- Leadership activated an Emergency Operations Center and notified state and federal law enforcement.
- Presbyterian Healthcare Services and Lovelace Health System took additional patients.
- UNM warned people to watch for phishing and fraud tied to the incident.
Impact: Care disruption; alleged theft of patient and staff data unconfirmed
- 1.Watch for phishing and fraud attempts that exploit the UNM Health incident.
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From the original article
2 min read at securityaffairs.com
A cybersecurity incident forced UNM Health to divert ambulances, cancel appointments, and pause care while it contained the threat. On Monday, October 26, the University of New Mexico Health System (UNM Health) faced the kind of security incident that healthcare leaders dread: one serious enough to change how patients could receive emergency care. A major […]
By Pierluigi Paganini · securityaffairs.com
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