Bernalillo, New Mexico: Council Votes to Offer $82,000 to Hacker After Cyberattack Freezes Town Systems

The Town Council in Bernalillo, New Mexico, has voted unanimously to offer $82,000 to the hacker behind a cyberattack that froze the town's public computer systems earlier this month, in the hope of protecting town systems and the information stored on them.

Mayor Jack Torres told the Sandoval Signpost that the council took the action in the hope of protecting city systems, along with employee and possibly customer information. The council voted unanimously to extend the $82,000 offer to the threat actor behind the attack, the Signpost reported.

How the attack unfolded

Town information technology staff first thought the problem, reported to The Paper on October 9, was merely an internet outage. A closer look showed it was a cyberattack, according to a town news release on the incident. The town said all of the computer systems the public uses were frozen and inaccessible online.

For residents of the town of about 9,200 people, the Sandoval County seat just north of Albuquerque, the disruption was practical and immediate. Residents could not pay water bills online, and the town's motor vehicle office was closed. Town officials said nobody would lose service or pay late fees while the town recovered.

The town contacted the FBI and brought in the New Mexico Office of Cybersecurity and outside cybersecurity specialists to help restore services and data, Mayor Torres said at the time.

A divided question, a unanimous vote

Councilor Vincent Montoya expressed concerns about the consequences of negotiating with threat actors, the Signpost reported, even as the council voted unanimously to make the offer. What happens next depends on whether the unknown attacker accepts the payment.

Torres said one of the first questions he put to state and private cybersecurity partners was whether Bernalillo could simply be hit again. He said there is no guarantee the town will not be targeted a second time, but that the town and its partners are learning from the incident. Augusta Meyers of the Mid-Region Council of Governments, one of the entities working with Bernalillo, said she expects a prevention plan to be among the next steps.

Bernalillo is not the only New Mexico institution hit this fall. The University of New Mexico Health System recently canceled clinic appointments and rerouted ambulances while it dealt with a cybersecurity issue, and a ransomware group called BYOD has reportedly claimed responsibility for that attack.

Sources: Sandoval Signpost, Bernalillo council approves $82K ransom payout after cyberattack, October 27, 2026; The Paper in Rio Rancho, same report, October 27, 2026; KOAT Action 7 News report on the $82,000 offer; Dysruption Hub report on the October 15, 2026 town statement.