Pete Hegseth orders overview after revelations Microsoft used Chinese language contractors to handle delicate cloud providers.
Printed On 28 Aug 2025
The US has launched a overview of Chinese language nationals’ involvement in managing delicate cloud providers for the US army, Washington’s defence chief has mentioned.
US Secretary of Protection Pete Hegseth mentioned on Wednesday that he had ordered an audit of Microsoft’s use of Chinese language residents to assist handle delicate cloud providers to find out if any safety breaches had occurred.
“Using Chinese language nationals to service Division of Protection cloud environments – it’s over,” Hegseth mentioned in a video assertion.
“We’ve issued a proper letter of concern to Microsoft documenting this breach of belief, and we’re requiring a third-party audit of Microsoft’s digital escort programme, together with the code and the submissions by Chinese language nationals.”
“Did they put something within the code that we didn’t find out about? We’re going to discover out,” Hegseth added.
Hegseth mentioned he had additionally directed software program suppliers to determine and finish “any Chinese language involvement in DOD techniques”.
Hegseth’s order comes after an investigative report by ProPublica in July documented Microsoft’s employment of contractors in China and different international international locations to take care of the Protection Division’s cloud techniques at the side of US-based “digital escorts”.
Following the report, Microsoft introduced that it could not use China-based technicians to help the army.
Hegseth, who introduced a right away overview of China’s involvement in cloud providers following the ProPublica report, mentioned excluding Chinese language nationals from delicate techniques was “widespread sense”.
“We anticipate distributors doing enterprise with the Division of Protection to guard US nationwide safety forward of revenue maximisation,” he mentioned.
