A cybersecurity incident caused ambulance diversions, cancelled appointments and disruptions to medical facilities around the state on Monday October 26, leaving New Mexico with no emergency departments able to treat the most severe traumatic injuries. The University of New Mexico Health System provides the only level 1 trauma centre in the state.
The health system advised patients not to attend the main hospital in Albuquerque and cancelled appointments at over 30 clinics whilst they tried to resolve the issue. Although officials did not immediately say what exactly had happened, later in the day it was announced that parts of the hospital and clinics were beginning to get back up and running.
Presbyterian Healthcare Services and Lovelace Health System are also large healthcare providers in the state and worked with the network to prepare to take in extra patients.
The University of New Mexico Health System sees around 900,000 outpatients and 100,000 emergency department patients per year (University of New Mexico Health System website), meaning this is a large part of the healthcare system.
Multiple staff reported seeing messages on their computers late Monday morning stating that student, staff and patient data had been stolen.
A spokesperson for the health system did not want to comment as they said there was an ongoing police investigation.
An FBI spokesperson confirmed that they were assisting a partner organisation but did not give any further details. Attempts to comment were also sent to the Bernalillo County Sheriff’s Office and Albuquerque Police Department.
This incident comes as there has been ongoing concerns about attacks on digital systems within essential services such as healthcare. Ransomware requests and other cyber incidents have been seen with hospitals for around a decade, however it is unusual for messages to be shown on computer systems due to the breach (Josephine Wolff, Professor of Cybersecurity Policy at Tufts University).
This shows how difficult it can be for organisations to protect their networks.
The impact could be seen throughout Albuquerque and surrounding areas. At the main hospital, staff in turquoise uniforms were directing patients away from the waiting area and advising they may have their appointments cancelled. Patients arriving at a medical centre in Rio Rancho were also told by security guards to rearrange their appointments.
The University of New Mexico’s Health Sciences Centre, the largest academic medical centre in the state, cancelled Monday and Tuesday classes. Staff working in the hospital and medical group will be returning on Tuesday.
It has not been confirmed what caused the incident, if data has been extracted or if there was a ransom request. The investigation is ongoing.
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