A cyberattack forced a New Mexico hospital network to turn ambulances away

On October 26, the University of New Mexico Health Sciences Center diverted ambulances to other hospitals for about two hours and canceled outpatient surgeries and appointments for the rest of the day. Systems came back online in phases, and clinics resumed appointments the next day. A new ransomware group called BYOD claimed the attack. UNM says it made no concessions to the group and is warning people not to engage with anyone claiming responsibility.

Why it matters: much of the damage from an attack is the downtime. Clinics, offices and shops in Los Angeles depend on the same kinds of systems.

One step today: make sure you have a recent backup stored offline or off your network, and test that you can actually restore from it. Write down who to call and what to disconnect if something goes wrong.

Want help checking your backups? Call (818) 791-0055 or visit contact VanquishNet.