Texas

According to city of Odessa officials, state-provided software meant to enhance cybersecurity effectively protected city systems, and staff is now restoring operations using secure backups.

Texas A&M University is seeking approval to sell land to nuclear energy companies as a solution to power-supply problems in Texas. It may become the first U.S. university to have a commercial nuclear reactor site license.

The Department of Public Safety is asking the Texas Legislature to invest $22 million in a system that would allow roughly 40 percent of Texans needing routine services to make a virtual appointment.

The Dallas City Council on Wednesday approved paying a consultant firm nearly $567,000 to analyze the economic impact that high-speed rail lines to Houston and Fort Worth could have on the region.

Texas State University partnered with the ed-tech company Risepoint to offer more bachelor's and master's degree programs in high-demand fields, part of a national trend of moving classes online to attract more students.

Calling regulators' actions against the company nonsense, SpaceX President and Chief Operating Officer Gwynne Shotwell updated lawmakers on the company and urged them to continue support.

The state Legislature may consider requiring companies like Aurora, Cruise and Waymo to notify the Department of Motor Vehicles when human drivers step out. Proposed bills could be brought forward during the upcoming session.

Concerned with problems ahead as companies ditch drivers for autonomous vehicles, Texas lawmakers are aiming at a light touch — but new requirements — for companies behind driverless tech.

The state chief information security officer of nearly eight years was named one of Government Technology’s Top 25 Doers, Dreamers and Drivers, in part for helping create a collaborative, risk-aware culture.

The newly created Texas Space Commission is looking for applicants for grants from the Space Exploration and Aeronautics Research Fund, marking one of the first tangible actions of the agency.

SpaceX has announced that it will be moving its company headquarters to Brownsville, Texas, and as such, Brownsville Mayor John Cowen recently discussed what it means for his city.

A team at the Office of the Attorney General built a search solution to help child support field case workers with a major pain point — time-consuming research. The result demonstrates the “art of the possible.”

Two major Texas universities will co-lead one of five SECURE (safeguarding the entire community of the U.S. research ecosystem) centers dedicated to protecting intellectual property from foreign access.

Texas State University, Houston Community College, Dallas College and Kilgore College will work with government agencies and tech companies to offer students digital skills training, credentials and internships.

The website ApplyTexas, which serves 117 of the state's higher education institutions, is up and running again after technical difficulties this summer frustrated prospective students trying to apply.

The Texas Education Agency's Office of School Safety and Security is rolling out a mass communication and threat reporting system called Sentinel, available to all schools in the state at no charge.

Texas A&M University canceled classes on July 18 and 19 after a faulty software update from the cybersecurity company CrowdStrike negatively affected TAMU servers, workstations and work laptops.

With a new requirement from the Department of Justice looming, state and local governments must make their digital services accessible for people with disabilities, but not all are starting from the same place.