Pentagon chief Pete Hegseth responded swiftly Friday to issues raised by Sen. Tom Cotton about reviews that Microsoft has been utilizing engineers in China to keep up US Department of Defense (DoD) programs.
“Spot on Senator. Agree fully. Our team is already looking into this ASAP,” Hegseth wrote on X.
“Foreign engineers — from any country, including of course China — should NEVER be allowed to maintain or access DoD systems,” he added.
Following media reviews that engineers in China are sustaining DOD laptop programs beneath a contract with Microsoft, the Republican senator formally requested that the Pentagon examine.
“Chinese state-sponsored hacking campaigns have long targeted U.S. officials through Microsoft systems. Now Microsoft is allegedly relying on U.S. citizens serving as ‘digital escorts’ to supervise these Chinese engineers’ activities on DoD systems,” Cotton wrote to Hegseth.
Cotton mentioned the US acknowledges that China’s cyber capabilities pose “one of the most aggressive and dangerous” threats to the nation. “DoD must guard against all potential threats within its supply chain, including those from subcontractors.”
The senator requested Hegseth to supply an inventory of contractors that rent Chinese personnel to supply upkeep or companies on DoD programs.
Source: www.anews.com.tr