Texas Purchases Statewide MS-ISAC Membership Under New Model

The Texas Department of Information Resources (DIR) has secured a statewide membership in the Multi‑State Information Sharing and Analysis Center (MS‑ISAC), enabling more than 6,000 state, local, tribal and territorial government entities in Texas to access cybersecurity services at no cost through November 2026.

The move comes as MS‑ISAC recently transitioned from a federally funded cooperative agreement model to a fee‑based membership structure, prompting concerns that resources could become less accessible for public‑sector entities. By procuring the statewide membership, Texas has locked in continuity of service for existing members and opened the opportunity for eligible entities to enroll free of cost under the state’s umbrella.

According to DIR’s announcement, more than 1,500 Texas government entities already belonged to MS‑ISAC before the statewide arrangement. The new membership structure allows any eligible entity in the state that has not yet joined to do so via MS‑ISAC’s website at no cost.

MS‑ISAC describes its mission as improving “the overall cybersecurity posture of U.S. state, local, tribal and territorial government organizations through coordination, collaboration, cooperation and increased communication.” The organization offers 24‑hour, 7‑day per week security operations, threat intelligence, detection and response assistance, regular webinars, advisories and access to specialist portals.

Previously funded through the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, MS‑ISAC moved to a fee‑based membership model as of Oct. 1. By consolidating membership at the state level, Texas aims to streamline access to MS‑ISAC services and maintain affordability for its public‑sector entities.

The services offered through MS‑ISAC include incident response support, tactical and strategic cyber-intelligence development, malicious‑domain blocking/reporting, weekly reports on the top malicious domains and IPs and monthly members‑only webinars. The statewide membership is scheduled to run through Nov. 5, 2026.