The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has issued an order requiring federal civilian agencies to completely remove Chinese AI startup DeepSeek’s technology from their IT systems and prohibiting them from purchasing its products or services.
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has issued an order requiring federal civilian agencies to completely remove Chinese AI startup DeepSeek’s technology from their IT systems and prohibiting them from purchasing its products or services.
This is reported by CNBC. The restrictions apply to such structures as the Department of the Treasury, the State Department and the Department of Justice, and also apply to any third-party software solutions created using DeepSeek technologies. The ban does not affect the US Department of Defense, as separate protocols apply to military and intelligence structures.
The DHS order states that DeepSeek’s AI models “pose multiple threat vectors.” In particular, the Department warns of the risks of transferring sensitive data from government programs and U.S. citizens to China, as well as the presence of malware. The document cites open-source research that has identified multiple critical vulnerabilities in the DeepSeek iOS app.
"China has consistently opposed the excessive generalization of national security issues, as well as the politicization of science, technology and trade issues," said Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Mao Ning.
Currently, U.S. civil agencies have 60 days to submit written justification if they need a delay or exception to this order.
Earlier, US intelligence agencies accused leading Chinese AI developers of deploying “industrial-scale distillation campaigns.” The National Security Agency (NSA), the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Protection Agency (CISA), and the FBI issued a joint warning, stating that Chinese companies are systematically extracting the functionality and capabilities of advanced American AI models.
