Cyber incident forces UNM Health to cancel surgeries and divert ambulances

The University of New Mexico Health Sciences Center (UNM HSC) cancelled appointments and scheduled surgeries on Monday 26 October 2026 after a cyber incident, and ambulances were diverted. In a notice issued at 2.30pm MDT, the centre told patients not to attend its facilities, directing emergencies to 911 and asking people with non-emergencies to delay seeking care. UNM HSC said it began restoring systems in stages from 2.30pm, as it was safe to do so.

By 10.27pm, it confirmed that its hospitals had reopened and that clinics would resume scheduled appointments and procedures on Tuesday 27 October; missed visits and procedures would be rescheduled.

Classes were cancelled on the Health Sciences campus on Monday, and non-essential staff were sent home. Classes at the Schools of Medicine, Nursing and Pharmacy and the College of Population Health were also cancelled on Tuesday, including online and remote teaching. UNM’s Central and branch campuses were unaffected.

UNM HSC had not disclosed the incident’s nature or identified those responsible. Cybersecurity intelligence firm VenariX said the ransomware group BYOD had listed the university on its data leak site. The group claimed to have compromised 36,000 machines and stolen sensitive data, including personal information about students and employees, research data, student records and internal emails. These are the group’s claims; UNM HSC had not confirmed them. The centre receives more than one million patient visits a year and had 2,670 students enrolled in its classes in 2025.