U.S. Texas Cybersecurity Act

Why it Matters

The U.S. Texas Cybersecurity Act establishes statewide governance that helps public entities strengthen cybersecurity practices and meet legislative requirements.

Key benefits include:

• Strengthen cybersecurity oversight

Establish clear roles, authority, and responsibilities for cybersecurity governance within state agencies and public sector organizations.

• Improve risk management practices

Drive consistent risk assessment and mitigation efforts to address threats and vulnerabilities impacting critical state information systems.

• Enhance statewide regulatory alignment

Support compliance with state laws and directives by ensuring cybersecurity activities adhere to Texas-specific legislative mandates.

• Increase audit and reporting readiness

Provide frameworks and guidelines that facilitate timely, accurate, and transparent security audit processes and legislative reporting.

• Promote coordinated incident response

Enable improved communication and collaboration for incident detection, response, and recovery across state agencies and partner organizations.

How it Works

The U.S. Texas Cybersecurity Act establishes a governance framework structured around statutory requirements, risk management mandates, and defined roles for state agencies. The framework delineates key domains, including the adoption of security controls, the designation of information security officers, and requirements for periodic risk assessments and incident reporting. Its provisions outline ongoing oversight responsibilities by central state authorities and establish minimum security standards for public sector entities across Texas.

In practice, state agencies and institutions of higher education implement the Texas Cybersecurity Act by integrating its controls and governance requirements into their internal security and compliance programs. Common operational activities include conducting regular risk and compliance assessments, documenting and enforcing security policies, responding to and reporting cybersecurity incidents, and maintaining continuous monitoring of security practices to support ongoing regulatory compliance.

SmartSuite supports operationalizing the Texas Cybersecurity Act by providing control libraries that map statutory requirements to specific security controls. Organizations can maintain risk registers, automate policy governance, and track evidence for compliance audits. Additional features enable automated remediation workflows, facilitate compliance tracking, and present executive reporting dashboards to demonstrate ongoing adherence and readiness for state-level security audits.

Key Elements

• Statewide Cybersecurity Governance Structure

Details the organizational roles and responsibilities for overseeing cybersecurity initiatives across state agencies.

• Centralized Leadership Authority

Establishes a lead cybersecurity officer or council responsible for statewide standards and coordination.

• Agency Security Program Requirements

Specifies cybersecurity guidelines that individual state agencies must implement and maintain for their information systems.

• Incident Reporting and Response Processes

Describes structured procedures for identifying, escalating, and addressing cybersecurity incidents within state networks.

• Periodic Risk Assessments

Outlines requirements for regular evaluation of cybersecurity risks and assessment of controls effectiveness.

• Training and Awareness Programs

Defines mandatory education initiatives to enhance cybersecurity knowledge and practices among state employees.

Framework Scope

The U.S. Texas Cybersecurity Act — State Cybersecurity Governance Requirements is implemented by Texas state agencies, public institutions, and government service providers. The framework governs information systems, data assets, and technology infrastructure, and is typically adopted for complying with state regulatory mandates, supporting state-level cybersecurity governance, and enhancing risk management and compliance program effectiveness.

Framework Objectives

The U.S. Texas Cybersecurity Act sets requirements to strengthen cybersecurity governance, risk management, and compliance for state agencies.

Strengthen cybersecurity governance and oversight for state information systems

Promote effective risk management to reduce cybersecurity threats and vulnerabilities

Enhance compliance with state and federal cybersecurity regulations and requirements

Protect sensitive data and ensure data protection practices

Improve operational resilience through established security controls and protocols

Enable increased audit readiness and transparent reporting of cybersecurity measures The U.S. Texas Cybersecurity Act establishes state-specific cybersecurity governance requirements, often mapped to frameworks like NIST Cybersecurity Framework, HIPAA, and CJIS for broader compliance. Organizations implement the Act's provisions to meet state regulatory obligations, align with federal standards, and strengthen public sector security governance and risk management practices.

Framework in Context

The U.S. Texas Cybersecurity Act establishes state-specific cybersecurity governance requirements, often mapped to frameworks like NIST Cybersecurity Framework, HIPAA, and CJIS for broader compliance. Organizations implement the Act's provisions to meet state regulatory obligations, align with federal standards, and strengthen public sector security governance and risk management practices.

Common Framework Mappings

Organizations map the Texas Cybersecurity Act to other major frameworks to simplify regulatory compliance, enable cross-jurisdictional consistency, and strengthen their overall cybersecurity governance and risk management efforts.

Mapped frameworks include:

CIS Critical Security Controls

CJIS Security Policy

COBIT

FedRAMP

FERPA

GLBA

HIPAA

ISO/IEC 27001

NIST Cybersecurity Framework

NIST SP 800-53

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