The governor's office announced White's appointment as chief of the Texas Cyber Command in a press release Tuesday. According to the release, White will assume the role until his term's expiration on Feb. 1, 2027.White brings decades of military and cybersecurity experience to the role. He most recently served as commander of U.S. Fleet Cyber Command and the U.S. 10th Fleet. Before that, White led the Cyber National Mission Force at U.S. Cyber Command. His career also includes leadership roles with the National Security Agency (NSA) and the U.S. Indo-Pacific Command.
White has spent the last five years as a cyber operations consultant through his LLC, OneNetworkConnections, in the San Antonio area.
“Our state is under constant attack by cyber criminals, attacks that occur thousands of times every single second of every single day," said Abbott. "Texas needs strong cybersecurity experts to lead our fight against these attacks, often from hostile foreign adversaries like China, Russia, and Iran. Admiral White's decades of honorable military service to our country combined with his cybersecurity expertise makes him the leader we need at the helm of the Texas Cyber Command. Admiral White and the Texas Cyber Command will serve as essential assets to prevent and protect against cyber breaches to keep Texans safe.”
The Texas Cyber Command was established through House Bill 150, signed into law in June following its designation as an emergency item by the governor earlier this year. Headquartered in San Antonio and working closely with the University of Texas at San Antonio, the state’s Regional Security Operation Centers and other universities, the Texas Cyber Command is positioned to become the largest state-based cybersecurity department in the U.S.
The new agency will work in coordination with the University of Texas at San Antonio, regional security operation centers and a range of federal partners including the FBI, NSA, Department of Homeland Security and the U.S. Secret Service.
According to the Texas Department of Information Resources (DIR), the Cyber Command represents a complete overhaul of the state’s cybersecurity strategy. It introduces a “whole-of-state” model, consolidating oversight and response efforts across critical sectors such as water, energy and telecommunications. It will also absorb existing cybersecurity personnel and resources from DIR to centralize threat intelligence, incident response and infrastructure protection efforts.
“The governor made it very clear when he laid this out that Texans don't care who was responsible for their water district being hit,” said DIR Deputy Executive Director Steve Pier at a recent Industry Insider — Texas event. “It doesn't matter when your services are out. It's a whole-of-state problem.”
White is a graduate of the U.S. Naval Academy and holds advanced degrees in systems technology and strategic resource management from the Naval Postgraduate School and National Defense University, respectively. His appointment comes as Texas significantly expands its technology investments, with the 2025 legislative session seeing the state’s IT budget grow to about $3.8 billion.
