Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth says Chinese engineers will no longer support Pentagon cloud systems after Microsoft’s decade-long arrangement is exposed.
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth announced Friday that Chinese engineers will no longer assist with Pentagon cloud systems after revelations that Microsoft used China-based workers to help maintain military tech.
“This is obviously unacceptable, especially in today’s digital threat environment,” Hegseth said in a video posted on X. “We have to ensure the digital systems we use here at the Defense Department are ironclad and impenetrable.”
He ordered an immediate halt to China’s involvement and launched a two-week review across the department.
The move follows a ProPublica report stating that Microsoft used China-based engineers for over a decade, supervised by “digital escorts” who reportedly lacked technical skills.
Senator Tom Cotton urged Hegseth to investigate, citing supply chain risks.
Microsoft responded, confirming it had “made changes” to ensure no China-based engineers support Defense Department cloud systems.
“We remain committed to providing the most secure services possible,” said Frank Shaw, Microsoft’s chief communications officer.
The exposed data includes sensitive “Impact Level 4 and 5” military operations material.
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