- Chinese engineers have apparently worked on sensitive defense department systems
- Microsoft has stopped this practice
- Many in the department are not familiar with the system
Some of the most sensitive data that the United States has to offer is currently being maintained by China’s engineers, often considered, especially in the technological field, its largest adversary.
A report from Propublic He said that Microsoft is using these engineers to maintain the computer systems of the Department of Defense, with ‘minimum supervision by the United States personnel’.
Microsoft says that this agreement has changed from now on, since the company has reviewed its practices to ensure that Chinese engineers no longer provide technical support for services in an effort to mitigate the risk for national security.
Digital escorts
“In response to the concerns raised earlier this week about foreign engineers supervised by the United States, Microsoft has made changes in our support for the customers of the United States government to ensure that no headquarters with headquarters in China is providing technical assistance for the Government of the DOD and related services,” said Microsoft Communications Director Frank Shaw, in an X position.
The workers were supervised by ‘digital escorts’, salary workers barely more minimal that are often less skilled than the engineers they supervise, many are former military personnel with very little coding experience.
One of these escorts told him Propublic; “We are trusting that what they are doing is not malicious, but we can’t really say.”
While this system has been in force for almost ten years, many former government officials told the publication that they were not familiar with practice.
“Literally, nobody seems to know anything about this, so I don’t know where to go from here,” said Accven King, spokesman for the Defense Information System Agency.
The current technology and commercial war have seen the two states introduce strict regulations and national security policies, restricting access to markets and opportunities on both sides. Chinese computer pirates have even attacked the local governments of the United States in malware campaigns, highlighting the security risk raised by actors sponsored by the State.
