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Microsoft to stop using China-based engineers for US military tech support

Date:
Mon, 21 Jul 2025 12:17:00 +0000

Description:
Chinese engineers are apparently being employed with minimal supervision from
US personnel.

FULL STORY

Some of the most sensitive data the United States has to offer is currently
being maintained by engineers from China, often considered, especially in the
tech field, its biggest adversary. 

A report from ProPublica has claimed Microsoft is using these engineers to
maintain the Department of Defenses computer systems, with minimal 
supervision by US personnel. 

This arrangement has changed as of now, Microsoft says, as the firm has
revised its practices to ensure Chinese engineers no longer provide technical
support for services in an effort to mitigate the risk to national security.

Digital escorts 

In response to concerns raised earlier this week about US-supervised foreign
engineers, Microsoft has made changes to our support for US Government
customers to assure that no China-based engineering teams are providing
technical assistance for DoD Government cloud and related services, said the
Microsofts Chief Communications Officer, Frank Shaw, in an X post . 

The workers were supervised by digital escorts, barely-over-minimum wage
workers who are often less skilled than the engineers they oversee - many are
former military personnel with very little coding experience. 

One of these escorts told ProPublica ; were trusting that what theyre doing
isnt malicious, but we really cant tell. 

Whilst this system has been in place for almost ten years, many former
government officials told the publication that they were unfamiliar with the
practice. 

'Literally no one seems to know anything about this, so I dont know where to
go from here, said Deven King, spokesperson for the Defense Information
Systems Agency. 

The ongoing tech and trade war has seen the two states introduce strict
regulations and national security policies, restricting access to markets and
opportunities on both sides. Chinese hackers have even targeted local US
governments in malware campaigns, highlighting the security risk posed by
state-sponsored actors.

======================================================================
Link to news story:
https://www.techradar.com/pro/security/microsoft-to-stop-using-china-based-eng
ineers-for-us-military-tech-support

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