Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth announced Wednesday that the Pentagon has shut down Microsoft’s decade-old “digital escort” program, first implemented under a Democrat administration, which allowed Chinese engineers supervised by U.S. contractors to work on sensitive defense cloud systems. He said the Defense Department has launched audits and investigations to assess the program’s impact on national security.
In a video statement, Hegseth announced the Department of Defense (DoD) had been made aware of “an Obama–Biden era legacy program called Digital escorts.” For nearly a decade, he explained, Microsoft used Chinese coders remotely supervised by U.S. contractors to support sensitive DoD cloud systems, a practice he called an “unacceptable risk.”
“The use of Chinese nationals to service Department of Defense cloud environments — it’s over,” Hegseth remarked. “We’ve issued a formal letter of concern to Microsoft documenting this breach of trust, and we’re requiring a third-party audit of Microsoft’s digital escort program, including the code and the submissions by Chinese nationals. This audit will be free of charge for U.S. taxpayers.”
Hegseth explained that the DoD has launched two investigations, one into the broader “digital escort” system itself, and another into the work of the Chinese engineers who participated. The Defense Department will also require all contractors to identify and terminate any Chinese involvement in its systems.
Microsoft’s digital escort model first came to public attention in July, following a ProPublica investigation that revealed Chinese engineers were relaying code instructions through minimally trained U.S. “escorts.” Critics warned this arrangement risked exposing some of the nation’s most sensitive military data to espionage.
Sen. Tom Cotton (R-AR) had pressed the Pentagon to investigate, calling foreign engineer access to DoD systems “deeply concerning.” In an earlier response, Hegseth agreed, declaring that “foreign engineers — from any country, including of course China — should NEVER be allowed to maintain or access DoD systems.”
The development reflects continuing concerns about Microsoft’s ties to China. In recent years, Microsoft Research Asia partnered with Chinese universities sanctioned for links to the People’s Liberation Army, and the company has faced criticism for providing AI tools to Chinese firms via its Azure platform despite formal restrictions. Earlier this year, Microsoft pledged it would stop using China-based engineers to maintain Pentagon systems after reports raised alarms about potential vulnerabilities.
Hegseth stressed that the Pentagon is working with other federal agencies to review all networks for foreign exposure.
“We expect vendors doing business with the Department of Defense to put U.S. national security ahead of profit maximization,” Hegseth stated. “This never should have happened in the first place, but once we found out about it, we’ve attacked it aggressively from the beginning. We’re going to follow through to make sure this is addressed.”
The Pentagon’s move comes amid broader efforts by the Trump administration to limit Chinese involvement in U.S. critical infrastructure. Earlier this month, President Trump called for tighter restrictions on technology companies with ties to Beijing, while lawmakers continue to raise concerns about foreign influence over America’s defense supply chain.
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