KOAT talks to cybersecurity experts on what could have happenedALBUQUERQUE, N.M. —Early Monday afternoon, a University of New Mexico Hospital employee reported receiving an audio message on their computer stating, “UNMH has been hacked” and “We have personal information of employees and students.” UNMH has not confirmed the incident. Following the reported hack, UNMH posted a message on its website announcing that ambulance services were being diverted to other hospitals, including Presbyterian and Lovelace. Appointments and outpatient surgeries were canceled at more than 30 clinics across the state. Non-essential workers were dismissed, and classes for health sciences students were canceled.By 2:30 Monday, UNMH began resuming operations and bringing systems back online.”In 2026, there were already around 200 or 300 cyber attacks targeting hospitals. So it is very common,” said Efrain Lopez, a professor of computer science at New Mexico State University. He suggested the incident could have been a ransomware attack, though UNMH has not disclosed the cause. “So if a particular employee of the hospital opens a phishing email and runs the malware, then that is when the hackers can get access to the hospital network,” Lopez said. KOAT safety expert Paul Szych said hackers often target large institutions due to the potential for financial or informational gains. “They can apply for lines of credit. They can attempt to register your home’s name into a fictitious name, and then attempt to take over a title. They can wreck your credit,” Szych said. When asked how institutions like hospitals can prevent cyber attacks, Szych emphasized the importance of employee training. “But the main ways we know that they can be mitigated is phishing training. So the employees have to go through phishing training where they can see an email and understand if that email is malicious or not,” Szych said.
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