TX-RAMP is Crucial for Texas Digital Security

Ping Identity’s Texas Risk and Authorization Management Program (TX-RAMP) Level II certification represents a significant milestone in our commitment to security, allowing us to serve Texas state agencies and institutions more effectively.

With a powerful, flexible IAM platform that meets the state’s stringent standards, Ping Identity is proud to play a pivotal role in securing Texas’s digital future. Whether you're modernizing your IAM strategy or embracing a zero-trust security framework, Ping Identity can provide the tools you need to protect identities and data while staying compliant with the highest security standards.

In today's rapidly evolving digital landscape, protecting sensitive data and ensuring secure access to systems are more critical than ever. For the state of Texas, this challenge has been addressed through the TX-RAMP. Established as a framework for ensuring the security of cloud-based technology services used by state agencies, TX-RAMP is more than just a compliance measure—it's a vital step in safeguarding information for millions of Texans.

But what exactly is TX-RAMP, and why is it so important? And, how can organizations ensure they meet its security mandates? Let’s break it down.

The Texas Department of Information Resources (DIR) launched TX-RAMP as a standardized approach to cloud security for state agencies. It’s designed to ensure that any cloud technology services used by these agencies meet strict security requirements. Before a cloud solution can be adopted by a Texas state agency, it must go through the TX-RAMP assessment process. 

TX-RAMP is crucial for:

• Safeguarding Public Data: Protecting the personal information of millions of Texans is paramount.

   

• Minimizing Risk: By enforcing rigorous standards, TX-RAMP helps prevent data breaches, ensuring state agencies adopt only the most secure cloud services.

   

• Promoting Trust: When citizens interact with Texas state agencies, they can trust that their information is being handled securely.

Meeting TX-RAMP’s stringent security requirements can seem daunting for cloud providers. That’s where Ping Identity steps in. As a leading provider of identity management solutions, Ping Identity is equipped to help organizations comply with security mandates like those outlined in TX-RAMP.

Here’s how Ping Identity solutions aligns with TX-RAMP’s goals:

• End-to-End Identity Security: Ping Identity’s platform provides robust identity and access management (IAM) solutions. These solutions ensure that only authorized users gain access to sensitive data and applications, minimizing the risk of unauthorized access—a key focus of TX-RAMP.

   

• Single Sign-On (SSO): Secure, streamlined access to multiple applications with a single set of credentials.

   

• Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA): One of the cornerstones of security is verifying the identity of users. Ping Identity offers flexible MFA solutions, adding an extra layer of security and ensuring compliance with TX-RAMP’s requirements for strong user authentication.

   

• Adaptive Access Policies: Security needs vary by agency, and TX-RAMP mandates require flexibility. Ping Identity’s adaptive access policies allow organizations to set conditional access based on risk, user behavior, or device type. This helps agencies enforce security at scale while minimizing disruption to operations.

   

• Identity Governance and Administration: Using AI and machine learning, modern identity governance automates legacy manual processes, such as account and entitlement provisioning access requests & reviews, and segregation of duties. This makes compliance easier to attain and reduces security gaps that exist with legacy solutions.

   

• Seamless Integration: Ping Identity’s solutions integrate easily with everything from legacy and on-premises applications to existing cloud infrastructure, ensuring that state agencies can leverage their current systems while enhancing security. This compatibility with modern cloud technologies makes it easier for agencies to meet TX-RAMP’s requirements without overhauling their IT environments.

   

• Scalability and Flexibility: Texas agencies vary in size and scope. Ping Identity’s cloud-based solutions are designed to scale and adapt to meet the diverse needs of small agencies or large statewide departments, all while remaining compliant with TX-RAMP regulations.

   

• Future-Proofing: Keeping up with security threats requires constant vigilance and innovation. Ping Identity has pioneered several market-leading technologies that help prevent identity fraud through real-time decision making granting the right access at the right time, identity verification (proofing), digital credential issuance and verification so organizations can instantly ensure users are who they claim to be, all through a single platform.

For Texas, TX-RAMP is more than just a set of rules—it's about building a foundation of trust between the state, its agencies, and its citizens. With increasing cyber threats and growing reliance on cloud technologies, adopting robust security measures is no longer optional; it’s essential.

Using Ping’s Identity’s solution, all eligible Texas agencies and higher education institutions are able to seamlessly on-board users, prove the users identity with IAL2 identity proofing, grant digital credentials and birthright access to applications using federated single sign-on (SSO), add phishing-proof multi-factor authentication (MFA), request entitlement to new applications, meet compliance requirements with segregation of duties and reporting, all in a TX-RAMP compliant environment.

To make the procurement process smoother, Ping Identity has partnered with organizations that hold State of Texas DIR Contracts. These strategic distribution partnerships help Texas government organizations evaluate, select, and implement Ping Identity’s solutions.

For more information and to talk to a representative about IAM and TX-RAMP, contact us.