A cyberattack blocked online water-bill payments and closed the motor vehicle office in Bernalillo, New Mexico, town officials said Thursday.
The town’s statement said all systems the public uses were frozen and inaccessible online. The motor vehicle office was the only town office closed. Other employees continued working.
Mayor Jack Torres said staff initially mistook the problem for an internet outage. “Upon closer inspection, we realized it was a full blown cyberattack,” he said.
Bernalillo is the seat of Sandoval County, north of Albuquerque. It has about 9,200 residents, according to the Census Bureau’s 2025 estimate.
Residents were directed to pay water bills in person or by credit card over the phone. The town waived late fees and suspended service disconnections during recovery.
Police and fire emergency services remained operational, the town said. Officials have not reported any interruption to water delivery.
The town contacted the FBI and is working with the New Mexico Office of Cybersecurity and outside cybersecurity specialists to restore services and data, Torres said.
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An earlier town notice described a network and internet outage and unavailable email. KOB 4 reported that disruption last Friday, before the town publicly identified a cyberattack Thursday. The precise start of the attack remains unclear.
A recent suspected cyber incident in Big Spring, Texas, also disrupted electronic water-bill payments and prompted the city to waive late fees. Officials had enlisted cybersecurity specialists but had not confirmed an attack when we reported on it Tuesday.
The town has not said whether resident information was exposed or when online services will return. It has not identified ransomware or a responsible group.
