Tech giant Microsoft has been accused of letting Chinese engineers assist with government contracts, leading the company to confirm that it will stop using China-based computer engineering teams for any work related to the Pentagon’s highly classified systems after concerns arose about “espionage” and a massive lack of oversight within Microsoft.
For background, on July 15, 2025, ProPublica issued a report that revealed that Microsoft was contracting engineers in China to maintain the Department of Defense’s computer systems, with the outlet noting that the Chinese engineers receive “minimal supervision” from Microsoft managers in the United States. In response, the company stated that it was cutting ties with its China-based teams amidst the growing security concerns.
In its report, ProPublica published statements from one of Microsoft’s “digital escorts,” an individual responsible for managing “foreign engineers with far more advanced skills.” Speaking under the condition of anonymity, the escort said, “We’re trusting that what they’re doing isn’t malicious, but we really can’t tell.”
Moreover, Deven King, a Defense Information Systems spokesperson, told ProPublica that Microsoft’s work with PRC-based teams seemed incredibly secretive, saying, “Literally no one seems to know anything about this, so I don’t know where to go from here.”
After the ProPublica report was released, Fox News Digital reported that Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth was alarmed, saying that foreign engineers from “any country … should NEVER be allowed to maintain or access DOD systems.” Secretary Hegseth added that the DOD was “looking into this ASAP.”
Additionally, Frank Shaw, chief communications officer at Microsoft, told Fox that the security concerns related to the company’s PRC teams had prompted the company to shift gears. Shaw explained, “In response to concerns raised earlier this week about U.S.-supervised foreign engineers, Microsoft has made changes to our support for U.S. government customers to assure that no China-based engineering teams are providing technical assistance for DOD government cloud and related services.”
Continuing, Shaw said that Microsoft remains ” committed to providing the most secure services possible to the U.S. government, including working with our national security partners to evaluate and adjust our security protocols as needed.” Another company spokesperson reassured Fox that its China-based teams “have no direct access to customer data or customer systems.”
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Importantly, when the anonymous digital escort spoke to ProPublica, they explained that the current system used by Microsoft to manage its China-based teams leaves many windows open for hacking. The escort said that an engineer could install updates at will that would give them backdoor access to customer networks, adding, “Will that get caught? Absolutely. Will that get caught before damage is done? No idea.”
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