Governor Greg Abbott (R) has announced an expansion of Texas's list of growing prohibited technologies for state employees and government-issued devices, citing growing cybersecurity threats tied to foreign adversaries.
The updated list, developed in consultation with Texas Cyber Command (TXCC) Chief Vice Admiral TJ White, adds new restrictions on physical hardware, artificial intelligence platforms, and software affiliated with the People's Republic of China (PRC) and the Chinese Communist Party (CCP).
"Rogue actors across the globe who wish harm on Texans should not be allowed to infiltrate our state's network and devices," said Gov. Abbott. "Hostile adversaries harvest user data through AI and other applications and hardware to exploit, manipulate, and violate users." Thus, the governor announced that he would be "expanding the prohibited technologies list to mitigate that risk and protect the privacy of Texans."
In a formal letter to the Department of Public Safety Director Colonel Freeman Martin, Department of Information Resources Interim Director Tony Sauerhoff, and Chief White, Abbott designated TXCC as the lead agency responsible for identifying additional technologies that may threaten the state's sensitive data.
"The Governor and the Legislature gave a clear mission for the Texas Cyber Command- protect Texans from hostile foreign nations and cyber threat actors," said White. "We are pleased to lead this effort to prevent cyber attacks that could exfiltrate sensitive information to bad actors across the globe."
Abbott established the TXCC as the largest state-based cybersecurity department in the nation, tasking it with strengthening Texas's cyber defense strategy and protecting government networks from foreign interference.
The expanded list follows a threat assessment conducted by TXCC and includes a range of AI developers, consumer electronics firms, e-commerce platforms, and surveillance technology companies.
Newly prohibited technologies include:
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