By Kevin Hendricks, The Paper. — Bernalillo residents can’t pay water bills online or visit the town’s Motor Vehicle Department after a cyberattack froze the town’s public-facing computer systems over the long holiday weekend. Officials say nobody will lose service or pay late fees while the town recovers.
Mayor Jack Torres said the town’s IT director first took the problem for an ordinary internet outage.
“Upon closer inspection, we realized it was a full blown cyberattack,” Torres said in a Thursday news release.
The town contacted the FBI, brought in the New Mexico Office of Cybersecurity and hired outside cybersecurity experts to restore systems and data. The MVD is the only town office closed. All other town staff are still working, and public safety services remain up and running, according to the release.
The town has not said whether residents’ personal or financial data was exposed, or when online services will return.
Residents can pay water bills in person at Town Hall, 829 Camino del Pueblo, from 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Bring your statement or account number. The town accepts cash, check or credit card in person, and credit cards by phone.
Pay your Bernalillo water bill:
- In person: 829 Camino del Pueblo, 8 a.m.–4:30 p.m.
- By phone (credit card only): 505-771-7120 or 505-771-7122
- Late fees waived and no disconnections during recovery
- Town Hall main line: 505-867-3311
- Need MVD service now? Find state MVD locations at mvd.newmexico.gov
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