BEIJING (dpa-AFX) - Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said the Pentagon has halted a decade-old Microsoft program that has allowed Chinese coders, remotely supervised by U.S. contractors, to work on sensitive cloud systems of the U.S. Defense Department.
In a digital video address to the public, the Defense Secretary said DOD was made aware of the 'digital escorts' program last month and that the program has exposed the Defense Department to unacceptable risk - despite being designed to comply with government contracting rules.
'If you're thinking 'America first,' and common sense, this doesn't pass either of those tests,' Hegseth said, adding that he initiated an immediate review of the program upon learning of it.
'I want to report our initial findings. ... The use of Chinese nationals to service Department of Defense cloud environments? It's over,' he said.
Additionally, Hegseth said DOD has issued a formal letter of concern to Microsoft, documenting a breach of trust, and that DOD is requiring a third-party audit of the digital escorts program to pore over the code and submissions made by Chinese nationals.
The secretary also said he's tasking DOD experts with a separate investigation to determine whether any digital escort employees have negatively impacted the coding of DOD cloud systems, and that all Defense Department software vendors must now identify and terminate any Chinese involvement with DOD cloud systems.
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