Campus Alert Archive
TTUHSC

A Cyberattack on Two Academic Health Centers Disrupted Systems Across Five Texas Cities

TXinfrastructure failureadvisorymedium confidence
Confirmed Threat

The Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center and its El Paso counterpart suffered a cybersecurity event involving unauthorized access between September 17 and 29, 2024 that disrupted computer systems and applications across campuses in Lubbock, Amarillo, the Permian Basin, Abilene, Dallas and El Paso. The centers posted IT outage updates as they took systems offline to secure the network. The Interlock ransomware group later claimed the attack and the breach was confirmed to affect about 1.46 million patients.

Alerts
2
Response
—
Killed
—
Injured
—
Institution
Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center
Public R1 · TX
~5,000 students
Confirmed Timeline

Alert Sequence

2 messages in sequence

Some alert texts below are approximate reconstructions from news coverage, not confirmed verbatim transcripts. Reconstructed texts are shown in italic with a dashed border. Verified verbatim texts have a solid border and are marked accordingly.

INITIAL ALERTWebsite
Approximate reconstruction388 chars
TTUHSC has identified an issue that has resulted in a temporary disruption to some of our computer systems and applications. Immediately after identifying the issue, we took steps to secure our network and began an investigation. Some systems may be unavailable as we work to safely restore service. Patient care continues, and we will share updates as more information becomes available.

This text has been reconstructed from news coverage and may not reflect the exact original wording.

Reconstructed: the centers said in September they 'identified issues that resulted in a temporary disruption to some computer systems and applications' and took steps to secure the network — the language captured in the disclosure.
The centers pointedly did not use the word 'ransomware' in early messaging, even though the Interlock group later claimed the attack.
UPDATEWebsite
Approximate reconstruction350 chars
We continue to make progress restoring affected systems and applications across our campuses. Some services remain intermittently unavailable. We are working with third-party cybersecurity experts and law enforcement and will notify any affected individuals if the investigation determines their information was involved. Thank you for your patience.

This text has been reconstructed from news coverage and may not reflect the exact original wording.

Reconstructed: the El Paso center maintained a running IT outage updates page as systems were restored in phases and the investigation continued.
The conditional breach-notification language ('if the investigation determines') preceded the later confirmed 1.46 million-patient ePHI breach.
Context

Background

Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center, an academic health institution with campuses in Lubbock, Amarillo, the Permian Basin, Abilene and Dallas — and its separately accredited El Paso counterpart — disclosed a cybersecurity event involving unauthorized access between September 17 and 29, 2024. The centers said they identified a disruption to some computer systems and applications, took systems offline to secure the network, and posted IT outage updates while restoring service. Although the institutions avoided the word 'ransomware,' the Interlock ransomware group claimed responsibility in October and leaked stolen data. Filings with the HHS Office for Civil Rights later confirmed the ePHI of about 1.46 million people was compromised — 650,000 tied to TTUHSC Lubbock and 815,000 to the El Paso center — making it one of the largest higher-ed health-data breaches of the year. The case illustrates the dual nature of academic-medical-center cyber incidents: an operational systems outage that doubles as a massive patient-data breach.
Analysis

Key Findings

A single cyber intrusion disrupted academic-health-center systems across five-plus Texas cities
The centers avoided the word 'ransomware' even after the Interlock group publicly claimed the attack
The incident was both an operational outage and a confirmed breach of ePHI for about 1.46 million people
No ransom was paid; Interlock subsequently leaked roughly 2.6 TB of stolen data
Outcome
The centers restored systems over the following weeks. Two breach reports filed with the HHS Office for Civil Rights confirmed ePHI of about 1,465,000 people was compromised — 650,000 at TTUHSC and 815,000 at TTUHSC El Paso. The institutions said no ransom was paid; Interlock leaked roughly 2.6 TB of stolen data.
Provenance

Sources

  1. News
    Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center Ransomware Attack Affects 1.46 Million Patients - HIPAA Journal
    hipaajournal.com
  2. Official
    IT Outage Updates - Texas Tech Health El Paso
    ttuhscep.edu
  3. News
    Texas Tech University System data breach impacts 1.4 million patients - BleepingComputer
    bleepingcomputer.com
  4. News
    Filing: TTUHSC Lubbock data breach affected 650,000 individuals - KCBD
    kcbd.com
Tags
cyberattackransomwaredata-breachtexasacademic-health-centerinterlockadvisory
Added May 2026Updated May 2026Via ingestion