Microsoft ends use of China-based engineers to patch DoD systems

Microsoft said Friday it will end the use of China-based engineers to support its cloud services for the Defense Department after a ProPublica investigation found that the company was using Chinese personnel monitored by U.S.-based “digital escorts” to help maintain sensitive military systems.

The IT servicing model — where the digital escorts serve as a go-between connecting foreign engineers’ tech fixes to the systems that need patching — could open some of the most sensitive U.S. national security and military secrets to China, according to the report. It cited people aware of the program and former U.S. officials who commented on potential security risks that could arise from it.

The digital escorts are U.S. citizens with security clearances who act as intermediaries between China-based Microsoft engineers and the Pentagon’s cloud infrastructure. The escorts are tasked with manually inputting commands into military systems on behalf of their foreign counterparts, who are barred from direct access. 

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