SECTION 202.1. Applicable Terms and Technologies for Information Security Standards

The following words and terms, when used in this chapter, shall have the following meanings, unless the context clearly indicates otherwise.

(1) Access--The physical or logical capability to view, interact with, or otherwise make use of information resources.

(2) Agency Head--The top-most senior executive with operational accountability for an agency, department, commission, board, office, council, authority, or other agency in the executive or judicial branch of state government, that is created by the constitution or a statute of the state; or institutions of higher education, as defined in Texas Education Code §61.003.

(3) Application--As defined in Texas Government Code §2054.003(1).

(4) Availability--The security objective of ensuring timely and reliable access to and use of information.

(5) Cloud Computing--Has the same meaning as "Advanced Internet-Based Computing Service" as defined in Texas Government Code §2157.007(a).

(6) Cloud Computing Service--The meaning assigned by Special Publication 800-145 issued by the United States Department of Commerce National Institute of Standards and Technology as the definition existed on January 1, 2015.

(7) Confidential Information--Information that must be protected from unauthorized disclosure or public release based on state or federal law or other legal agreement.

(8) Confidentiality--The security objective of preserving authorized restrictions on information access and disclosure, including means for protecting personal privacy and proprietary information.

(9) Control--A safeguard or countermeasure, including devices, policies, procedures, techniques, or other measures, that are prescribed to meet security requirements of an information system or organization to preserve. Controls may include security features, management constraints, personnel security, and security of physical structures, areas, and devices.

(10) Control Standards Catalog--The document that provides state agencies and higher education institutions state specific implementation guidance for alignment with the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) SP (Special Publication) 800-53 security controls.

(11) Custodian--See information custodian.

(12) Department--The Department of Information Resources.

(13) Destruction--The result of actions taken to ensure that physical and digital media cannot be reused as originally intended and that information is technologically infeasible or prohibitively expensive to recover.

(14) Electronic Communication--A process used to convey a message or exchange information via electronic media. It includes the use of electronic mail (email), Internet access, Instant Messaging (IM), Short Message Service (SMS), facsimile transmission, and other paperless means of communication.

(15) Encryption (encrypt or encipher)--The conversion of plaintext information into a code or cipher text using a variable called a "key" and processing those items through a fixed algorithm to create the encrypted text that conceals the data's original meaning.

(16) FedRAMP--Federal Risk and Authorization Management Program.

(17) Guideline--Recommended, non-mandatory controls that help support standards or serve as a reference when no applicable standard is in place.

(18) High Impact Information Resources--Information Resources whose loss of confidentiality, integrity, or availability could be expected to have a severe or catastrophic adverse effect on organizational operations, organizational assets, or individuals. Such an event could:

(A) cause a severe degradation in or loss of mission capability to an extent and duration that the organization is not able to perform one or more of its primary functions;

(B) result in major damage to organizational assets;

(C) result in major financial loss; or

(D) result in severe or catastrophic harm to individuals involving loss of life or serious life-threatening injuries.

(19) Information--Any communication or representation of knowledge such as facts, data, or opinions in any medium or form, including textual, numerical, graphic, cartographic, narrative, electronic, or audiovisual forms.

(20) Information Custodian--A department, agency, or third-party service provider responsible for implementing the information owner-defined controls and access to an information resource.

(21) Information Owner(s)--A person(s) with statutory or operational authority for specified information and responsibility for establishing the controls for its generation, collection, processing, dissemination, and disposal.

(22) Information Resources--As defined in Texas Government Code § 2054.003(7).

(23) Information Resources Manager--As defined in Texas Government Code § 2054.071.

(24) Information Security Program--The policies, standards, procedures, elements, structure, strategies, objectives, plans, metrics, reports, services, and resources that establish an information resources security function within an institution of higher education or state agency.

(25) Information System--A discrete set of information resources organized for the collection, processing, maintenance, use, sharing, dissemination, or disposition of information. An Information System normally includes, but is not limited to, hardware, software, network infrastructure, information, applications, communications, and people.

(26) Integrity--The security objective of guarding against improper information modification or destruction, including ensuring information non-repudiation and authenticity.

(27) ITCHE--Information Technology Council for Higher Education.

(28) Local Government - As defined by Texas Government Code § 2054.003(9).

(29) Low Impact Information Resources--Information resources whose loss of confidentiality, integrity, or availability could be expected to have a limited adverse effect on organizational operations, organizational assets, or individuals. Such an event could:

(A) cause a degradation in mission capability to an extent and duration that the organization is able to perform its primary functions, but the effectiveness of the functions is noticeably reduced;

(B) result in minor damage to organizational assets;

(C) result in minor financial loss; or

(D) result in minor harm to individuals.

(30) Moderate Impact Information Resources--Information Resources whose loss of confidentiality, integrity, or availability could be expected to have a serious adverse effect on organizational operations, organizational assets, or individuals. Such an event could:

(A) cause a significant degradation in mission capability to an extent and duration that the organization is able to perform its primary functions, but the effectiveness of the functions is significantly reduced;

(B) result in significant damage to organizational assets;

(C) result in significant financial loss; or

(D) result in significant harm to individuals that does not involve loss of life or serious life-threatening injuries.

(31) Network Security Operations Center (NSOC)--As established by Texas Government Code §2059.101.

(32) Nonconfidential Data--Information that is not required to be or may not be protected from unauthorized disclosure or public release based on state or federal law or other legal agreement.

(33) Personal Identifying Information (PII)--A category of personal identity information as defined by Texas Business and Commerce Code § 521.002(a)(1).

(34) Procedure--Instructions to assist information security staff, custodians, and users in implementing policies, standards, and guidelines.

(35) Program Manual--Program manual for the Texas risk and authorization management program.

(36) Residual Risk--The risk that remains after security measures have been applied.

(37) Risk--The effect on the entity's missions, functions, image, reputation, assets, or constituencies considering the probability that a threat will exploit a vulnerability, the safeguards already in place, and the resulting impact. Risk outcomes are a consequence of Impact levels defined in this section.

(38) Risk Assessment--The process of identifying, evaluating, and documenting the probability and level of impact on an organization's mission, functions, image, reputation, assets, or individuals that may result from the operation of information systems. Risk Assessment incorporates threat and vulnerability analyses and considers mitigations provided by planned or in-place security controls.

(39) Risk Management--The process of aligning information resources risk exposure with the organization's risk tolerance by either accepting, transferring, or mitigating risk exposures.

(40) Security Assessment--The testing or evaluation of security controls to determine the extent to which the controls are implemented correctly, operating as intended, and producing the desired outcome with respect to meeting the security requirements for an information system or organization.

(41) Security Incident--An incident that meets one of the requirements enumerated at Texas Government Code §2054.603(a)(1)(A) - (B).

(42) Sensitive Personal Information--A category of personal identity information as defined by Texas Business and Commerce Code §521.002(a)(2).

(43) Standards--Specific mandatory controls that help enforce and support the information security policy.

(44) State-controlled data--Any and all data that is created, processed, or stored by a state agency.

(45) StateRAMP--The risk and authorization management program, built upon the National Institute of Standards and Technology Special Publication 800-53 and modeled after the FedRAMP program, that provides state and local governments a common method for verification of cloud security.

(46) Statewide Technology Centers--As defined in Texas Government Code §2054.375(2).

(47) Threat--Any circumstance or event with the potential to adversely impact organizational operations (including mission, functions, image, or reputation), organizational assets, or individuals by the unauthorized access, destruction, disclosure, modification of information, and/or denial of service.

(48) TX-RAMP--the Texas Risk and Authorization Management Program.

(49) User of Information Resources--An individual, process, or automated application authorized to access an information resource in accordance with federal and state law, agency policy, and the information-owner's procedures and rules.

(50) Vulnerability Assessment--A documented evaluation containing information described in Texas Government Code §2054.077(b), which includes the susceptibility of a particular system to a specific attack.

Source Note: The provisions of this §202.1 adopted to be effective March 17, 2015, 40 TexReg 1357; amended to be effective November 17, 2021, 46 TexReg 7775; amended to be effective November 16, 2023, 48 TexReg 6579