Microsoft letting Chinese engineers work on Pentagon cloud programs sparks probe

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said the Pentagon was “looking into” a cloud computing program run by Microsoft utilizing foreign workers from China, which was criticized this week for potentially lacking adequate safeguards, which could provide the CCP easy access to classified defense data and systems.

A ProPublica report released Tuesday accused Microsoft of allowing China-based engineers to assist with Pentagon cloud systems with inadequate guardrails in an effort to scale up its government contracting business. 

In response, Sen. Tom Cotton, R-Ark., sent a letter to Hegseth Thursday asking for information and documents about the program, including a list of all Department of Defense (DOD) contractors that hire Chinese personnel to provide maintenance or other services to DOD systems, a list of subcontractors that hire Microsoft’s American-born “digital escorts” required to supervise foreign computer scientists while they work on DOD systems and documents on the training these supervisors receive to identify suspicious activity. The Republican senator requested answers to his questions by the end of the month.   

“In light of recent and concerning reports about Microsoft using engineers in China to maintain DOD systems, I’ve asked the Secretary of Defense to look into the matter,” Cotton said in a post on X sharing his letter to Hegseth. “We must guard against all threats within our military’s supply chain.”

TEMU SUED BY KENTUCKY FOR ALLEGEDLY GIVING CHINA ‘UNFETTERED’ ACCESS TO USER DATA

A few hours after Cotton’s X post, Hegseth responded, “Spot on senator.”

“Agree fully,” Hegseth said in his own X post responding to Cotton. “Our team is already looking into this ASAP. Foreign engineers — from any country, including of course China — should NEVER be allowed to maintain or access DOD systems.”

The ProPublica report cited current and former employees and government contractors who worked on a cloud computing program deployed by Microsoft in 2016, which involved a “digital escort” framework. The program, meant to meet federal contracting regulations, used a system of “digital escort” chaperones for global cybersecurity officials, such as those based in China, meant to create a security buffer so that they can work on agency computing systems. DOD guidelines require that people…