San Antonio home to state Cyber Command department

SAN ANTONIO – Gov. Greg Abbott Monday signed House Bill 150 into law to create the Texas Cyber Command, the largest state-based cybersecurity department in America, during a bill signing ceremony at The University of Texas at San Antonio.

Passed during the 89th legislative session, the Texas Cyber Command will leverage the cybersecurity expertise and resources of state, local and federal partners in San Antonio to protect Texans against cyber threats.

“Our state is under constant attack by cyber criminals, attacks that occur thousands of times every single second of every single day,” Abbott said. “Attacks often come from foreign actors from hostile countries like China, Russia and Iran. They successfully attacked cities, counties, and government agencies in Texas, from Mission to Muleshoe.

“That changes today,” he said. “I’m signing a law that creates the Texas Cyber Command. Its ultimate mission is to prevent and protect against cyber breaches.”

Funded through a historic $135 million investment, the Texas Cyber Command will:

• Launch a cyber threat intelligence center to identify and repair weaknesses in state and local government systems and to train and educate users about preventing cyber breaches.

• Coordinate with governments on swift and effective responses to cyber attacks.

•Collaborate with local, state, and federal partners to establish the gold standard for cybersecurity.

Home to the second-largest concentration of cyber expertise in the U.S., the Texas Cyber Command will be headquartered in San Antonio to partner with leading national cybersecurity missions, including the Sixteenth Air Force, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the National Security Agency, the U.S. Secret Service, the U.S. Army, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, and the Southwest Texas Fusion Center.

Abbott was joined at the bill signing by state Sen. Tan Parker (R-Flower Mound), state Rep. Giovanni Capriglione (R-Southlake), UTSA President Taylor Eighmy, Texas Department of Information Resources Executive Director Amanda Crawford, Texas Department of Public Safety Colonel Freeman F. Martin, Texas Division of Emergency Management Chief Nim Kidd, and other elected officials and leading cybersecurity experts.

House Bill 150 (Capriglione/ Parker) creates the Texas Cyber Command, a purpose-built agency in San Antonio whose mission is to defend, respond, and recover from cyber threats.