Cybersecurity

State-Mandated Artificial Intelligence and Cybersecurity Training

Texas Government Code Sections 2054.5191 and 2063.103 mandate artificial intelligence and cybersecurity training for local government employees, elected officials, and appointed officials who have access to a local government computer system or database. (The law is unclear about whether all employees – or only those who use a computer to perform 25 percent of their duties – must take the artificial intelligence training, but the safest interpretation is that all employees with access to a computer should do so.) Click here to check out the Pool's state-approved training and reporting explanation.

Cyber Liability Coverage and Related Resources

Cyber threats are becoming increasingly common, and governmental entities are being directly targeted. The Pool’s cyber coverage is designed to protect both individual Members and the partnership itself. Most importantly, the Pool provides resources to help you avoid an attack. Many of the Pool's services are provided through ERiskHub, including:

The Cyber Squad Provides these No Cost Pre-Breach Services 

Post-Breach Services

  • Privacy Breach Response Services
  • Notification of Affected Individuals
  • Call Center Support
  • Breach Resolution
  • Legal Services
  • Computer Expert Services
  • Public Relations and Crisis Management Services

AI/Cyber Training 

Texas Government Code Sections 2054.5191 and 2063.103 mandate artificial intelligence and cybersecurity training for local government employees, elected officials, and appointed officials who have access to a local government computer system or database. (The law is unclear about whether all employees – or only those who use a computer to perform 25 percent of their duties – must take the artificial intelligence training, but the safest interpretation is that all employees with access to a computer should do so.) Click here to check out the Pool's state-approved training and reporting explanation. 

Cyber Training 

Check out the Cyber Squad's YouTube Channel for cyber training videos and the following episodes in the squad's October 2024 video podcast series:

Ep. 1 - The Current Cybersecurity Threat Landscape: Hear about password complexity, current breach statistics, and much more.

Ep. 2 - Reducing the Risk of a Ransomware Attack: Hear about data backups, patch management, user awareness, and organizational culture.

Ep. 3 - Recognizing Phishing Attack Types: Hear about tactics such as phishing, spear-phishing, smishing, and quishing, and how to avoid being a victim.

Ep. 4 - Stay Safer with “MFA”: Hear about what MFA does for an organization, which accounts should have MFA enabled, and why should you be using it now.

Ep. 5 - Why Proper Data Backups Matter: Hear about the 3-2-1 backup strategy, offline backups, and recovery time objective/recovery point objective considerations.

Ep. 6 - Cyber Squad Services: Hear about the no-cost services provided to TML Risk Pool Members by the Cyber Squad, as well as information on obtaining a .gov domain and the recent TikTok ban. 

Ep. 7 - Planning for the Unexpected:  Business Impact Analyses, Business Continuity Plans, Incident Response Plans, and More.

Ep. 8 - Five Questions Every City Leader Should Be Asking Their IT and Their Staff.

Ep. 9. - Fire Drills for Cyber Disasters: Do You Pass the Test? Hear about the importance of having a disaster recovery plan and practicing the plan using a tabletop exercise.  

Ep. 10 - Cyber Resources Available From UT-Austin With Special Guest, Cam Beasley.

Ep. 11 - Cyber Resources Available from UT-San Antonio CIAS, with Special Guest Natalie Sjelin.

Ep. 12 - Services Available to TML Risk Pool Members through Cowbell Resiliency Services.

 Ep. 13 -  Anatomy of a Cyber Incident Response .