A New Mexico hospital cybersecurity issue forced the University of New Mexico Hospital in Albuquerque to divert ambulances and cancel appointments across more than 30 clinics on Monday 26 October 2026. ​The diversion temporarily left New Mexico's only Level I trauma centre unable to accept incoming ambulance traffic, according to reports.​

UNM said its hospital facilities were open again late on Monday, with clinics expected to resume scheduled appointments and procedures on Tuesday. The cause of the incident remained under investigation.

UNM said the incident affected the wider Health Sciences Center network. Staff were instructed to disconnect computers and mobile devices from the network, while non-essential personnel and students were sent home. Officials notified state and federal law enforcement, but did not initially disclose the cause.

Staff Told to Unplug Computers as the Incident Unfolded

On Monday, UNM Health Sciences Center users were instructed to turn off and unplug desktop computers and disconnect mobile devices from hospital Wi-Fi after a network security alert.​ Communications director Chris Ramirez said patients should not turn up at any UNM Health facility, and that emergencies should go through 911. ​

UNM Health temporarily limited its acceptance of new patients between 12:30 and 2:30pm as staff responded to the incident. At 2:30pm, the system began restoring operations and bringing services back online in phases.​ Information technology staff notified law enforcement, and leadership set up an emergency operations centre to guide staff. ​ Classes were also cancelled at the schools of medicine, pharmacy, nursing and population health. ​

Nearby Hospitals Help Accommodate Diverted Patients

The scale of the disruption is considerable. The health system conducts about 900,000 outpatient visits and 100,000 emergency room visits a year, according to its website, ​ and its main hospital has more than 600 inpatient beds. ​ Presbyterian Healthcare Services and Lovelace Health System, two other major providers in the state, said they were coordinating with UNM Health and taking additional patients. ​

Essential staff kept working throughout, and the health system said it would help patients rebook missed appointments and procedures. ​ For a hospital that had just told its employees to pull the plug on their computers, that was no small undertaking. Patients booked for Tuesday expected word late Monday or early Tuesday. ​

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An Alleged Ransom Message and a Familiar Target

KOB 4 reported obtaining a partial recording of an automated message played on a worker's computer that urged recipients to contact the sender through the Session messaging app. Other reports said the message claimed that employee and student data had been taken, but UNM had not confirmed the claim.

The broadcaster described the people behind it as alleged hackers. ​ UNM Health has not publicly confirmed who was responsible, and its first statement gave no details on the nature of the problem or when services would return. ​

The health system has been here before. In 2021, an unauthorised third party gained access to its network on 2 May and the breach was discovered on 4 June, ​ with 637,252 people affected, according to a report to the US Department of Health and Human Services Office for Civil Rights. ​ Hackers frequently target hospitals by holding sensitive data for ransom, the Albuquerque Journal noted. ​

UNM said the incident remained under investigation and that it could not disclose further details while law enforcement inquiries continued.

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