Security News > 2022 > January > Ransomware puts New Mexico prison in lockdown: Cameras, doors go offline

Bernalillo County, New Mexico, has been unable to comply with the settlement terms of a 27-year-old lawsuit over prison conditions because of a ransomware attack last week that saw prisoners back under manual control.

Commissioners told the court that all of Bernalillo County, which covers the US state of New Mexico's largest city Albuquerque, had been affected by a January 5, 2022, ransomware attack, including the Metropolitan Detention Center that houses some of the state's incarcerated.

To resolve a complaint over prison overcrowding and other alleged rights violations dating back to 1995, the MDC and aggrieved inmates have agreed to settlement terms that call for the MDC to take corrective action that improve prison conditions.

The ransomware attack last week has interfered with the MDC's ability to do so, and the prison's systems have yet to be fully restored.

The nurse, Taileigh Sanchez, describes dire staff shortages at MDC and problems with a new electronic medical records system, issues that have been made worse by the ransomware attack.

Last year, despite the statistical decline, there were enough high profile ransomware attacks - Colonial Pipeline, JBS, and the Washington DC Metropolitan Police Department - that the Biden Administration made deterring ransomware a prominent part.

News URL

https://go.theregister.com/feed/www.theregister.com/2022/01/12/ransomware_new_mexico_prison/