As a former Special Agent for the Federal Bureau of Investigation who investigated cybercrimes involving children, I know from experience that the topic of increasing online protections for minors provoked intense debates among law enforcement, social services, parents, and the civil rights communities.

Often the discussions focused on how to preserve the positive impact of the internet while addressing the negative aspects, such as the facilitation of cyber bullying, narcotics trafficking, and various forms of exploitation. While others continue the discussion, Texas has stepped beyond the debate and enacted a new regulatory regime intended to shield certain materials from being viewed by minors, and to limit the collection and usage of their data.

The life cycle of a data security incident begins and ends with preparation.

Unfortunately, there is no such thing as a network or system with “zero vulnerabilities.” There are jokes about absolute network security, including that the only secure network is one without users or one with no access. There is no perfect code, no perfect software, no perfect hardware, and even the most well-intentioned user can be socially engineered. Consequently, preparation at all levels of information security is critical to protect businesses from catastrophic attacks.