how automated healthcare fails, how you'd know, and what to do at each tier — every claim sourced, reviewed continuously
On 26 October 2026 a cybersecurity event at the University of New Mexico Health Sciences Center led UNM Health to divert ambulance traffic to other area health systems for about two hours. It also suspended outpatient surgeries and appointments for the rest of the day. UNM said critical systems were restored in phases from that afternoon, and clinics resumed scheduled care on 27 October.
TierSources document ambulance diversion, unplugged end-user desktops and cancelled surgeries and appointments, but not which clinical systems were unavailable or whether care moved to paper, so no tier is assigned. How tiers are assigned.
According to UNM Health Sciences Center's update page, IT security teams began containment at about 11 a.m. on Monday 26 October 2026 after identifying a cybersecurity threat. Help Net Security reported that the breach was detected at about 11:30 a.m. and that staff were told to shut down systems about 40 minutes later. The Record reported that employees received phone alerts telling them to turn off and unplug desktops and to disconnect mobile devices from hospital Wi-Fi. From 12:30 to 2:30 p.m., UNM said, UNM Health diverted ambulance traffic to other area health systems and limited new patient acceptance. It suspended outpatient surgeries and appointments for the rest of the day 'because of system outages', and told patients not to come to its facilities that day and to call 911 for emergencies. The Record reported that ambulances went to health systems in Albuquerque and Santa Fe. It also noted that the hospital has the state's only burn unit, children's hospital and Level 1 trauma center. UNM said critical electronic systems came back in phases from about 2:30 p.m. 'as it was safe to do so'. It also said the event affected some end-user devices but did not penetrate core systems or servers. UNM activated an Emergency Operations Center, engaged external partners and notified state and federal law enforcement. It said it could share only limited information because of an active criminal investigation. By 27 October, according to UNM, all UNM Health hospitals were fully open, ambulance traffic was normal, and clinics had resumed scheduled appointments and procedures. Classes at the Health Sciences colleges were cancelled on 27 October. A group called BYOD claimed the attack on its leak site. According to The Record and Help Net Security, the group claimed to have compromised 36,000 machines and stolen student, employee and patient data. Help Net Security described those claims as unconfirmed. A UNM spokesperson did not answer The Record's question about whether ransomware was involved. The sources do not say whether the electronic health record was unavailable or whether care moved to paper.[1,2,3]
none documented
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