Cyberattack Disrupts University of New Mexico Health Sciences Center
AI-generated image · US National Wire
A security event forced the cancellation of medical classes and the diversion of ambulances to nearby cities.
The University of New Mexico (UNM) is recovering from a "cybersecurity event" that targeted its Health Sciences Center on Monday, Oct. 26, 2026, according to reporting from The Register.
The attack triggered an immediate shutdown of systems, resulting in the cancellation of clinics and appointments at UNM Health hospitals. The university reported that ambulances were diverted to healthcare facilities in Santa Fe and Albuquerque. While hospitals returned to normal operations by Tuesday, the university canceled classes for a second consecutive day across the nursing, pharmacy, and medicine faculties. Nonessential staff at the UNM Health Sciences Center were also instructed to stay home.
In a statement, the university noted that IT security teams worked to contain the event and notified federal and state law enforcement, while an Emergency Operations Center was activated to coordinate the response. UNM has not commented on the specific nature of the attack.
The Register reports that a ransomware group calling itself BYOD claimed responsibility for the breach on Monday afternoon. The group alleged it compromised two Oracle databases, both Active Directory forests, and 36,000 machines. BYOD further claimed to have accessed internal emails and the personal data of all employees and students, though these claims remain unverified.