Proposed Texas bill would regulate vendor contracts

A bill in the pipeline of the Texas state legislature is intended to make vendor contracts with the government more streamlined, secure, and accountable. This push by lawmakers to address data and privacy security is the result of government agencies across the country being targeted. One of the most notable incidents was the theft of over 20 million records from the United States Office of Personnel Management (OPM). An investigation revealed that hackers were able to access OPM’s network using credentials granted to a third-party vendor. This attack stands as a perfect example of why government partnerships are the focus of this Texas legislation.

The recently proposed bill would apply to a wide range of vendor contracts with the Texas government and address those that meet the following requirements:

• The value of the contract is more than $100,000.
• The work is billed at an hourly rate.
• The vendor performs professional or technical information technology services on a computer.

Close scrutiny and tough verification requirements

The proposed bill requires increased transparency and verification of vendor access controls through the use of software that monitors activity. The law states this software must:

• Allow the governmental entity or an auditor of the entity to have real-time and retroactive access to data to verify the hours of work performed under the contract by the vendor using a computer.
• Automatically track total keystroke frequency and computer mouse movement.
• Capture an image of the computer screen at least once every three minutes
• Provide continuous, automated updates of the real-time cost for each task being performed by the vendor using a computer.
• Allow the governmental entity to provide immediate feedback to the vendor on the progress of the work being performed by the vendor using a computer.
• Protect all data that is private or confidential.
• Be purchased by the vendor from a third-party entity.

As governments seek ways to improve transparency, communication, and security while better tracking expenditures – similar bills will become increasingly common. Is your company prepared?

Meeting tough new requirements

In order to meet the tough new requirements in the proposed Texas bill, it is imperative that technology vendors have a product that meets or exceeds the requirements to keep your third-party network connections safe, secure, and compliant. Your company will benefit from improved productivity, minimized risk, automated routine tasks, and improved uptime – while complying with all security and audit regulations.