Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth reportedly announced Wednesday that he was shutting down a nearly decade-old program that had granted Chinese nationals access to Department of Defense (DOD) cloud systems, calling the arrangement a glaring security risk that never should have been permitted.
In a video message, Hegseth described the “Digital Escorts” initiative, which originated during the Obama administration and continued into the Biden years.
Under the program, Microsoft had employed Chinese coders to “support sensitive DOD cloud systems,” though the work was supervised remotely by American contractors.
“Last month the Department of Defense was made aware of an Obama-Biden era legacy program called Digital Escorts,” Hegseth said. “For nearly a decade, Microsoft has used Chinese coders, remotely supervised by U.S. contractors, to support sensitive DOD cloud systems. The program was designed to comply with contracting rules but it exposed the department to unacceptable risk.”
Framing the issue in blunt terms, Hegseth questioned why such a policy had ever been considered. “I mean, if you’re thinking ‘America First,’ and common sense, this doesn’t pass either of those tests,” he said. “So I initiated an immediate review of this vulnerability and I want to report our initial findings.”
Hegseth said the review concluded that the risks of exposing sensitive military systems to foreign nationals far outweighed any potential benefits. “The use of Chinese Nationals to service Department of Defense cloud environments? It’s over,” he declared.
As part of the Pentagon’s response, Hegseth announced that Microsoft had been issued a formal letter of concern for its role in the program. “We’ve issued a formal letter of concern to Microsoft documenting this breach of trust, and we’re requiring a third party audit of Microsoft’s Digital Escort program — including the code and the submissions by Chinese nationals.”
The Defense Department, Hegseth added, is also launching a separate investigation into both the program and the individuals who had been involved in it. “Did they put anything in the code that we didn’t know about? We’re going to find out.”
The defense secretary expressed disbelief that such a program had ever been permitted, framing it as an example of misplaced priorities in Washington. “It blows my mind that I’m even saying these things, it’s such common sense,” Hegseth remarked.
He emphasized that the department would not tolerate private contractors placing profit above national security. “We expect vendors doing business with the Department of Defense to put U.S. national security ahead of profit maximization … This never should have happened in the first place.”
The announcement underscores the growing concern among conservatives that globalized corporate practices have too often collided with basic national security interests.
While the Obama-era program was designed to meet contracting requirements, Hegseth made clear that the arrangement fell short of protecting the Pentagon’s most sensitive digital systems.
By formally ending “Digital Escorts,” Hegseth signaled a clear break from what he portrayed as a dangerous legacy of complacency — and a shift toward a doctrine rooted in sovereignty, vigilance, and common sense.
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