On July 18th, United States Senator Tom Cotton from the Republican Party wrote a letter to the Secretary of Defense, Pete Hegseth, demanding an explanation regarding the employment of Chinese engineers by Microsoft to participate in maintaining the U.S. military’s cloud computing system.
Cotton, the chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee, emphasized in the letter, as reported by Reuters, that the cyber capabilities of the Chinese Communist Party pose a significant threat to the United States, and the military must guard against security vulnerabilities in the supply chain. He requested the Department of Defense to provide a list of all contractors employing Chinese personnel and to explain whether the U.S.’s oversight of “digital guardians” has enough professional capability to detect and prevent suspicious activities. Currently, Microsoft has declined to comment on Cotton’s letter, and the Department of Defense has not responded yet.
The root of this controversy stems from an exposé by the U.S. investigative media outlet ProPublica on July 15th. They discovered that Microsoft has been secretly hiring Chinese engineers to work on the maintenance of sensitive computing systems for the U.S. Department of Defense, while lacking adequate regulatory measures.
The investigation pointed out that the U.S. assigned American citizens with security clearances to act as “digital guardians” responsible for overseeing the work of Chinese engineers. However, the issue lies in the fact that many of these guardians lack technical expertise, with a significant portion being retired military personnel who are paid only slightly above minimum wage. An anonymous guardian told ProPublica, “We can only trust that they are not doing anything wrong, but in reality, we cannot confirm anything.”
Former senior officials from the CIA and NSA, such as Harry Coker, expressed that this system essentially opens a door for espionage activities, stating, “If I were a spy, this would be the gateway I dreamt of.”
John Sherman, former Information Chief of the U.S. Department of Defense, also expressed shock at the findings of the investigation, emphasizing the immediate need for a comprehensive review of the related arrangements by the Department of Defense.
In response to criticisms from various sectors, Microsoft stated that they have thoroughly explained to the federal government the operational details of the guardian system and emphasized that the entire process complies with government regulations. Currently, it is unclear whether other cloud service providers contracted by the federal government have similar arrangements.
As the situation continues to develop, we will keep you informed with the latest updates on this matter.