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

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By published

The arrangement is ‘inherently risky’

Microsoft
(Image credit: Future)
  • Chinese engineers have apparently worked on sensitive DoD systems
  • Microsoft has since stopped this practice
  • Many in the department are unfamiliar with the system

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 Defense’s 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 Microsoft’s 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; ‘we’re trusting that what they’re doing isn’t malicious, but we really can’t 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 don’t 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.

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Ellen Jennings-Trace
Ellen Jennings-Trace
Staff Writer

Ellen has been writing for almost four years, with a focus on post-COVID policy whilst studying for BA Politics and International Relations at the University of Cardiff, followed by an MA in Political Communication. Before joining TechRadar Pro as a Junior Writer, she worked for Future Publishing’s MVC content team, working with merchants and retailers to upload content.

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