The US Department of Defence (DoD) has ordered an immediate two-week review of its digital infrastructure following Microsoft's decision to discontinue the use of China-based engineering teams for providing technical support to DoD cloud services.

This abrupt change comes in the aftermath of an investigative report by ProPublica, which revealed that Microsoft had relied on engineers based in China to help maintain sensitive DoD computer systems. The report raised concerns about minimal oversight by American personnel and highlighted a potential risk of cyber threats from adversarial state actors.

Microsoft's Chief Communications Officer, Frank Shaw, responded to the growing controversy, confirming in a public statement that the company would halt the involvement of China-based teams in providing technical assistance to US government cloud and related services. Shaw emphasized Microsoft's dedication to delivering the most secure services possible and assured continued collaboration with US national security partners to review and strengthen security protocols as necessary.

US Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth, in a video statement, acknowledged that the DoD was first notified of the vulnerability following the ProPublica report and a letter from Senator Tom Cotton, which documented the use of China-based engineers on US military digital infrastructure. Hegseth revealed that the affected systems were legacy platforms introduced more than a decade prior, during the Obama administration.

Citing the urgent need to protect military digital infrastructure in the current threat environment, Hegseth declared that China would no longer have any role in the department’s cloud services, effective immediately.

He announced the launch of a comprehensive, department-wide two-week (or faster) review to ensure that no similar vulnerabilities exist elsewhere across the DoD’s technical ecosystem. Hegseth concluded by reaffirming the DoD’s commitment to strong cybersecurity measures and expressed gratitude to media and public stakeholders who brought the issue to attention, stating the department will persist in monitoring and countering threats to military and online systems.

Based On ANI Report