A cybersecurity issue forces a major New Mexico hospital to divert
patients and close clinics
[October 27, 2026]
By CHRISTOPHER L. KELLER and WUFEI YU
ALBUQUERQUE (AP) — 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 about 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 comment, 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 comment.
The Associated Press left emails and phone messages seeking comment from
the Bernalillo County Sheriff’s Office and the Albuquerque Police
Department.
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This photo taken with a smartphone shows the University of New
Mexico Health System on Monday, Oct. 26, 2026, in Albuquerque, N.M.
(AP Photo/Christopher Keller)
 The incident comes amid growing
concern about 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 and Tuesday. Employees in its
hospital and medical group were expected back at work Tuesday.
___
Yu reported from Phoenix. Associated Press writer Susan Montoya
Bryan contributed from Rio Rancho, New Mexico.
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