Microsoft cuts off China-based engineers from Pentagon projects, here's why

Microsoft

Microsoft has announced that engineers based in China will no longer be involved in supporting US Department of Defense (DoD) cloud systems, following a damning ProPublica investigation that raised concerns about national security risks.

The report revealed that Microsoft had employed China-based engineers to help maintain cloud computing systems used by the Pentagon — a move that alarmed lawmakers and defence officials. Although these engineers were supposedly monitored by US citizens with security clearances, known as “digital escorts,” ProPublica found that these escorts often lacked the technical expertise to adequately oversee the work, effectively creating a potential security blind spot.

The backlash was swift. US Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth took to X (formerly Twitter) to condemn the practice, stating, “Foreign engineers — from any country, including of course China — should NEVER be allowed to maintain or access DoD systems.”

Microsoft responded within hours. Frank X Shaw, the company’s chief communications officer, issued a public statement confirming that Microsoft has now “made changes to our support for U.S. Government customers to assure that no China-based engineering teams are providing technical assistance for DoD Government cloud and related services.”

The company stopped short of admitting wrongdoing but emphasised its commitment to US government compliance protocols and security expectations.