Obama and Biden Had Chinese Nationals Working on Defense Department’s Data Storage Systems with Microsoft’s Help
A recent report revealed that Microsoft employed Chinese engineers as part of a contract to maintain sensitive Defense Department cloud systems through a program known as “digital escorts.” Even though U.S. personnel supervised these engineers, many lacked the expertise to fully understand their activities.This arrangement exposed the Department of Defense (DoD) to significant security risks. After the issue came to light,Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth announced the immediate termination of the program and ordered a review to ensure no other projects compromise national security. Microsoft was reprimanded for the breach of trust and is now subject to a third-party audit of the program’s code and submissions from Chinese nationals. The inquiry aims to determine whether any unauthorized changes where made,and all Chinese connections to DoD vendor-operated systems will be cut. Secretary Hegseth emphasized that such vulnerabilities should never have occurred, highlighting the need for stronger safeguards to protect sensitive government facts.
Weeks after it was revealed that Chinese nationals have been an integral part of a Microsoft project to manage sensitive Defense Department information, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said that program has ended, and a review is under way to ensure no other program gives China access to sensitive government information.
In July, the website ProPublica revealed that Microsoft used China-based engineers as part of its contract to maintain Defense Department computer systems.
In theory, Microsoft had U.S. citizens with security clearances watching what Chinese engineers were up to. However, the ProPublica report said many lacked the technical understanding to know what was taking place.
The so-called escort system handled sensitive information that was not quite at the level of being classified.
The report prompted Microsoft to say in July that it would stop the practice, according to Reuters.
Hegseth took to X on Wednesday to tell the American people what had been going on.
“The Department of Defense was made aware of an Obama-Biden-era legacy program called digital escorts,” Hegseth said in a video.
“For nearly a decade, Microsoft has used Chinese coders, remotely supervised by U.S. contractors, to support sensitive DoD cloud systems,” he said.
Hegseth said the way the program was run “exposed the department to unacceptable risk.”
Hegseth noted that in July, when he learned about the problem, he “initiated an immediate review of this vulnerability.”
As a result of the investigation, he said that “the use of Chinese nationals to service Department of Defense cloud environments — it’s over.”
The use of Chinese Nationals to service Department of Defense cloud environments is over. pic.twitter.com/jZdcHwKho2
— Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth (@SecDef) August 27, 2025
Microsoft was reprimanded in a letter for the “breach of trust,” Hegseth said.
“We’re requiring a third-party audit of Microsoft’s digital escort program, including the code and the submissions by Chinese nationals,” Hegseth said, noting the audit will not cost taxpayers anything.
Hegseth said an investigation of the Microsoft program and its China connections “will help us determine the impact of this digital escort workaround.”
“Did they put anything in the code that we didn’t know about? We’re gonna find out,” he added.
In light of the Microsoft program, he said, Chinese connections to vendor-operated DoD systems will be terminated.
Hegseth said that under the principles of America First and common sense, “this never should have happened in the first place.”
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