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 DOD cloud systems.
In a digital video address to the public posted yesterday, the 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 audit will be free of charge to U.S. taxpayers, he said.
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.
"It blows my mind that I'm even saying these things … [and] that we ever allowed it to happen," Hegseth said of DOD's use of the digital escorts program, adding that the Pentagon is now vigorously working to course correct, and that the department expects its vendors to put U.S. national security ahead of profit maximization.
"I'm committed, like [President Donald J. Trump] is, to ensuring that our national security networks are secure," Hegseth said.
"Again, it's 'America first,' and it's common sense."