March 27, 2019

Fiscal Notes: Texas Cybersecurity — Protecting Data Systems

(AUSTIN) — In the March edition of Fiscal Notes, released today, the Comptroller’s office examines the rapidly growing field of cybersecurity, an industry spurred by a new breed of criminal: the cyberthieves and fraudsters who use technology to prey on others. Nearly 8,200 Texans worked as information security analysts in 2017, and that number is expected to rise by 40 percent in the next decade.

“Cyberattacks on companies are becoming more common and costlier,” Texas Comptroller Glenn Hegar said. “With billions of dollars’ worth of economic activity humming along cables and through wireless connections each day, organizations are investing in information security capabilities and staff on an unprecedented scale. Demand is outpacing supply for these specialists, as our educational institutions simply can’t turn them out fast enough.”

The March issue of Fiscal Notes also looks at Texas government’s own efforts at cybersecurity, which received a major boost in the last legislative session.

Fiscal Notes is available online and can be received by subscribing via the Comptroller’s website.

Fiscal Notes furthers the Comptroller’s constitutional responsibility to monitor the state’s economy and estimate state government revenues. It has been published since 1975, featuring in-depth analysis concerning state finances and original research by subject-matter experts in the Comptroller’s office.