BREAKING: Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth announced a full-scale investigation into Microsoft’s use of engineers linked to the Chinese Communist Party to work on U.S. military and Pentagon cloud services. The revelation has raised urgent questions about national security and contractor oversight.
Speaking publicly, Hegseth revealed that the Department of Defense discovered the issue last month through what he described as an Obama-Biden era legacy program called “digital escorts.” Under this program, Microsoft allegedly employed Chinese coders, remotely supervised by U.S. contractors, to maintain and develop sensitive DoD cloud systems. While the program technically complied with contracting rules, Hegseth stated it created “unacceptable risk” for national security.
Immediate Action Taken
Hegseth emphasized that the use of Chinese nationals in critical defense systems has been halted immediately. “It’s over,” he said, underscoring the Department’s swift response. Microsoft has received a formal letter of concern documenting the breach of trust, and a third-party audit of the digital escort program is now underway. This audit, Hegseth assured, will be conducted without cost to U.S. taxpayers.
“The audit will include a detailed review of the code submitted by Chinese engineers,” Hegseth explained. “We’re going to determine whether anything was inserted into the systems that the U.S. government didn’t know about. We will find out.”
Expanded Investigations and Vendor Accountability
In addition to the third-party audit, Hegseth is directing the Department of Defense’s own experts to conduct a separate review of the digital escort program and the Chinese personnel involved. The investigations aim to assess the full scope of any potential security breaches and identify vulnerabilities in DoD cloud operations.
Furthermore, all DoD software vendors have been ordered to terminate any Chinese involvement in U.S. military systems immediately. “It blows my mind that this ever happened,” Hegseth said, stressing the importance of putting national security ahead of profit.
National Security Implications
The announcement has sparked concern across government agencies and tech sectors alike. Analysts warn that foreign involvement in sensitive military cloud systems could expose critical data and compromise operational integrity. Hegseth emphasized a coordinated response across the federal government to safeguard all U.S. networks.
“Once we found out about this, we attacked it aggressively from the beginning,” Hegseth stated. “We’re going to follow all the way through the tape to ensure this is addressed. God bless.”
Next Steps
The Pentagon and DoD contractors are now under close scrutiny, and results from the third-party audit and internal investigation are expected to shed light on the full impact of the digital escort program. Observers say the outcome could have long-lasting implications for how U.S. defense contractors handle foreign labor and cloud-based operations.
As this story develops, national security experts, lawmakers, and tech analysts will be watching closely to see what further actions the Department of Defense takes to protect sensitive systems from foreign influence.