Texas’s New Cyber Command Offers a Model for Other States

Cyber attacks on state and local governments are becoming more frequent, more sophisticated, and more damaging. Texas is addressing this problem by creating a statewide Cyber Command Center responsible for finding and fixing vulnerabilities in government systems, training workers on best practices, and responding to cyber incidents.

Earlier this month, Governor Greg Abbot signed House Bill 150 into law to establish the Cyber Command Center and provide $135 million in state funding for its operations through 2027. As cyber threats grow in scale and complexity, Texas offers a comprehensive and scalable model that other states should learn from to strengthen their cyber capabilities and invest in long-term workforce development.

Recent cyber attacks highlight the urgent need for this kind of statewide initiative. In March and April 2025, cybercriminals forced the Texas cities of Mission and Abilene to declare a state of emergency and suspend access to public records. Then, in May, a data breach of Texas’s Department of Transportation leaked 300,000 crash reports, including personal information such as full names, addresses, license and license plate information, and insurance information. These incidents reveal a troubling trend of cyber attacks exploiting gaps in state and local government defenses.

Texas’s new Cyber Command Center is a direct response to the growing scale and sophistication of cyber threats targeting public infrastructure. The Command Center will centralize and strengthen the state’s cybersecurity capabilities by establishing a cyber threat intelligence unit, coordinating rapid responses to attacks, promoting best practices across agencies, and issuing biannual progress reports. This kind of centralized coordination is increasingly critical as cyber threats evolve beyond what existing—and often limited—state cybersecurity systems can handle.

What makes Texas’s approach to cybersecurity even more unique is its strategy to develop a long-term cybersecurity workforce jointly with its cybersecurity capacity building. The University of Texas at San Antonio has committed $60.4 million toward developing the center’s facilities. This collaboration ensures that Texas is not just securing its systems today, but also training, creating, and preparing its future cyber workforce.

Most states remain underprepared to meet today’s cybersecurity threats. While every state has some cybersecurity measures in place, these efforts are scattered across various laws, agencies, and organizations. This fragmentation makes coordination difficult and weakens oversight. Without a centralized structure, dedicated agencies, clear leadership, or long-term funding, states will continue to struggle to allocate resources effectively, share threat intelligence, and respond quickly, leaving them to react to attacks after they occur rather than preventing them.

Texas’s model deserves national attention, especially now, as President Trump’s recent executive order shifts responsibility for the resiliency of critical infrastructure against cyber attacks to state and local governments. Now more than ever, states need their own centralized cybersecurity agencies to coordinate threat intelligence, manage incident response, and implement effective policies. Partnering with higher education institutions will help build a steady pipeline of skilled cyber professionals and close workforce gaps. To ensure long-term success, states should commit to sustained funding and regularly assess their cybersecurity readiness to identify and fix vulnerabilities before they escalate.

By launching this initiative, Texas has taken bold and necessary steps to strengthen its digital infrastructure. As cyber threats continue to grow in scale and complexity, Texas offers a useful statewide model that other states can learn from to protect public services, improve coordination across all levels of government, and prepare the cybersecurity workforce of the future.