Following a report in the investigative journalism publication ProPublica that prompted a U.S. senator to question Microsoft and led Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth to order a two-week review of Pentagon cloud deals, Microsoft announced on Friday that it will no longer use Chinese engineers to provide technical assistance to the U.S. military.
According to the report, Microsoft employed Chinese engineers to work on U.S. military cloud computing systems.
These engineers were supervised by U.S. “digital escorts” who were hired through subcontractors.
These individuals had security clearances, but they frequently lacked the technical expertise to determine whether the Chinese engineers’ work constituted a cybersecurity risk.
Chinese and Russian hackers have compromised the computers of Microsoft, a significant U.S. government contractor.
It informed ProPublica that during an authorization procedure, it told the U.S. authorities about its methods.
Speaking on social media platform X on Friday, Microsoft spokesperson Frank Shaw stated that the company had modified its approach to serving U.S. government clients “in response to concerns raised earlier this week… to assure that no China-based engineering teams are providing technical assistance” for Pentagon-utilized services.
Senator Tom Cotton, a Republican from Arkansas who chairs the chamber’s intelligence committee and is also a member of the armed services committee, wrote to Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth earlier Friday on Microsoft’s alleged actions.
Cotton requested additional details on how U.S. “digital escorts” are taught to identify suspicious activities and a list of companies that use Chinese workers from the U.S. military.
“The U.S. government recognizes that China’s cyber capabilities pose one of the most aggressive and dangerous threats to the United States, as evidenced by infiltration of our critical infrastructure, telecommunications networks, and supply chains,” Cotton stated in his letter.
“The U.S. military “must guard against all potential vulnerabilities within its supply chain, including those from subcontractors,” he added.
Hegseth claimed he was initiating a two-week review to ensure China-based engineers weren’t working on any other cloud services contracts across the Defense Department in a video uploaded to X on Friday.
“I’m announcing that China will no longer have any involvement whatsoever in our cloud services, effective immediately,” Hegseth stated in the clip.
“We will continue to monitor and counter all threats to our military infrastructure and online networks.”
