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8h ago

Pentagon Bars Chinese Nationals From Defense Cloud Work, Orders Audit of Microsoft Program

A third-party review will scrutinize the 'digital escort' process that routed China-based engineers' work through U.S. escorts.

U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth at the Oval Office of the White House in Washington, D.C., U.S., August 18, 2025. REUTERS/Kevin Lamarque/ File Photo
Hegseth: Chinese coders barred from Pentagon cloud systems
Department of Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said "the use of Chinese nationals to service Department of Defense cloud environments, it's over." (KEVIN WOLF/AP)
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Overview

  • Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said the Pentagon has ended the use of Chinese nationals on Department of Defense cloud systems.
  • The department issued a formal letter of concern to Microsoft and mandated an independent audit of the Digital Escort program, including code submitted by China-based engineers.
  • Hegseth also directed a separate internal investigation by DoD experts to determine whether any malicious or unauthorized changes were introduced, with no findings released yet.
  • All DoD software vendors were told to identify and terminate any existing Chinese involvement in defense cloud environments.
  • The moves follow a ProPublica report detailing Microsoft’s use of China-based contractors overseen by low-skilled U.S. 'digital escorts,' and Microsoft has since said it will stop using China-based technicians for U.S. military support.