University of New Mexico hospital diverts ambulances after cyberattack

The University of New Mexico Health System diverted ambulances for about two hours on Monday after a cyberattack disrupted its operations, according to a report by Recorded Future News. The organization said its IT team worked to contain the issue and notified federal law enforcement. Outpatient surgeries and appointments were suspended for the rest of the day.

A spokesperson said the threat affected "the entire University of New Mexico Health Sciences Center," which also includes an academic campus and research facilities. The health system has the state's only burn unit, children's hospital and Level 1 trauma center.

Local outlets reported that employees received phone alerts telling them to shut down and unplug desktops and disconnect mobile devices from hospital Wi-Fi. Operations began resuming late Monday, and a spokesperson said appointments would continue as scheduled on Tuesday, while classes at several colleges and academic and research units stayed closed.

The spokesperson did not answer questions about whether ransomware was involved. A gang calling itself BYOD claimed responsibility that evening, saying it had compromised 36,000 machines and stolen data on students, patients and employees. That claim has not been independently verified, and the group is described as new with few named victims.

For defenders, the case is a reminder that clinical downtime planning matters as much as containment: diversion routes, paper fallbacks and clear staff instructions all get tested when systems go dark.