UNM cancels classes after Health Sciences Center cyberattack

The University of New Mexico canceled classes for a second day across its medicine, nursing, and pharmacy faculties. A cybersecurity event targeted the Health Sciences Center on Monday, Oct. 26, 2026, forcing the institution to shut down systems. The attack led to the cancellation of appointments and clinics at UNM Health hospitals. Ambulances were diverted to healthcare facilities in nearby Albuquerque and Santa Fe. Hospital appointments and clinics returned to normal on Tuesday, though nonessential staff were asked to remain at home.

The university announced the attack at 1430 local time on Monday evening. HSC information technology security teams took steps to contain the event and protect the network immediately after it occurred. State and federal law enforcement were notified about the cybersecurity event. Leadership activated an Emergency Operations Center to coordinate the response. The university has not commented on the specific nature of the cyberattack.

A group calling itself BYOD claimed responsibility for the attack on Monday afternoon. BYOD claimed the attack compromised 36,000 machines and two Oracle databases. The group also claimed internal emails and data from other systems were compromised. A rival ransomware group named EndZone claimed a similar breach a week earlier. Experts suggested that the BYOD and EndZone groups could be the same entity. A UNM spokesperson declined to answer additional questions about the attack.