Chuck DarwinDonald Trump signed into law this month a measure that ๐ prohibits anyone based in China and "other adversarial countries" from accessing the Pentagonโs cloud computing systems.
The ban, which is tucked inside the $900 billion defense policy law,
was enacted in response to a ProPublica investigation this year that exposed how Microsoft used China-based engineers to service the
Defense Departmentโs computer systems for nearly a decade
โ a practice that left some of the countryโs most sensitive data vulnerable to hacking from its leading cyber adversary.
U.S.-based supervisors, known as โ#digital #escorts,โ were supposed to serve as a check on these foreign employees,
๐ฅbut we found they often lacked the expertise needed to effectively supervise engineers with far more advanced technical skills.
In the wake of the reporting, leading members of Congress called on the Defense Department to strengthen its security requirements
while blasting Microsoft for what some Republicans called โa national betrayal.โ
Cybersecurity and intelligence experts have told ProPublica that the arrangement posed major risks to national security -- given that laws in China grant the countryโs officials broad authority to collect data.
Microsoft pledged in July to stop using China-based engineers to service Pentagon cloud systems
after Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth publicly condemned the practice.
โForeign engineers โ from any country, including of course China โ should NEVER be allowed to maintain or access DoD systems,โ Hegseth wrote on X.
In September, the Pentagon updated its cybersecurity requirements for tech contractors,
banning IT vendors from using China-based personnel to work on Defense Department computer systems.
The new law effectively codifies that change, requiring Hegseth to prohibit individuals from:
China, Russia, Iran and North Korea
from having direct or indirect access to Defense Department cloud computing systems.
Microsoft declined to comment on the new law. Following the earlier changes, a spokesperson said the company would โwork with our national security partners to evaluate and adjust our security protocols in light of the new directives.โ
Rep. Elise Stefanik, a Republican who serves on the House Armed Service Committee, celebrated the development,
saying it โcloses contractor loopholes โฆ following the discovery that companies like Microsoft exploitedโ them.
Sen. Tom Cotton, the GOP chair of the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence who has been critical of the tech giant, also heralded the legislation, saying it
โincludes much-needed efforts to protect our nationโs critical infrastructure, which is threatened by Communist China and other foreign adversaries.โ
The legislation also bolsters congressional oversight of the Pentagonโs cybersecurity practices,
mandating that the secretary brief the congressional defense committees on the changes no later than June 1, 2026.
After that, such briefings will take place annually for the next three years,
including updates on the โeffectiveness of controls, security incidents, and recommendations for legislative or administrative action.โ
https://www.propublica.org/article/trump-law-microsoft-digital-escort-ban-china
velvet Klub
sophee4363
Lisa J. Warner / Lisa Luv
