Governor Greg Abbott yesterday updated the state’s list of prohibited technologies for state employees and devices.
The update, done in consultation with Texas Cyber Command (TXCC) Chief, Vice Admiral TJ White (USN, Ret.), includes additional restrictions on physical hardware, artificial intelligence (AI), 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 Governor Abbott. “Hostile adversaries harvest user data through AI and other applications and hardware to exploit, manipulate, and violate users and put them at extreme risk. Today, I am expanding the prohibited technologies list to mitigate that risk and protect the privacy of Texans from the People’s Republic of China, the Chinese Communist Party, and any other hostile foreign actors who may attempt to undermine the safety and security of Texas.”
In a letter to Texas Department of Public Safety Colonel Freeman Martin, Texas Department of Information Resources Interim Director Tony Sauerhoff, and Chief White, Governor Abbott named TXCC the lead agency in identifying any additional technology that poses a threat to the State’s sensitive information.
“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 Chief White. “As TXCC works to stand up its full arsenal of operational assets, we are pleased to lead this effort to prevent cyber attacks that have the potential to exfiltrate sensitive information to bad actors across the globe.”
In June, Governor Abbott established the TXCC, the largest state-based cybersecurity department in America, to combat cyber threats and holistically enhance the state’s cybersecurity posture, coordination, and strategy.
At the direction of Governor Abbott, the following technologies were added to the prohibited technology list after a threat assessment executed by TXCC:
- SenseTime
- Megvii
- CloudWalk
- Autel
- CATL
- Wuhan Geosun LiDAR
- Yitu
- iFlytek
- Uniview
- Zhipu (Z.ai)
- Beijing Academy of Artificial Intelligence (BAAI)
- Alibaba
- Xiaomi
- Gotion High Tech
- Baidu
- RoboSense LiDAR
- TP-Link
- Hisense
- TCL
- Baichuan
- StepFun
- MiniMax
- PDD (Pinduoduo, Temu)
- Shein
- Moonshot AI
- NucTech
Article source and photo credit: Office of the Governor Greg Abbott
