The U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has mandated that federal civilian agencies remove artificial intelligence technologies from the Chinese company DeepSeek from their IT systems. This order also prohibits the further acquisition of this firm's products and services.
The restriction applies not only to the company's own tools but also to third-party services developed based on DeepSeek technologies. The American government cites data security risks, although no deadline for decommissioning the technologies has been set.
This decision was made based on the Federal Acquisition Supply Chain Security Act of 2018 following an analysis by the Federal Council on Procurement Security. According to the DHS, DeepSeek's AI models represent 'multiple vectors of threat.'
The department fears that the use of these tools by government employees or suppliers could lead to the transfer of confidential information to China. Furthermore, the agency asserts that this technology is capable of generating intelligence about American citizens and government agencies. Another concern is the potential presence of malware or security vulnerabilities within the models themselves.
The ban is not limited to the Chinese company's products; it also covers third-party services that utilize implementations of its models. This federal decision expands upon existing restrictions applied in the United States. The Department of Commerce and the Department of the Navy had previously banned the use of DeepSeek on official devices. Similar steps have been taken by New York, Tennessee, and Virginia.
In a memorandum published on Monday, October 19, DHS recommended that federal agencies monitor data traffic entering and leaving government websites. This initiative aims to identify potential risks associated with the use of this technology.
Among the measures taken or proposed by the United States against Chinese technologies are other initiatives that are part of a broader policy to contain risks associated with Chinese technologies. According to a source, last year 82% of US electronics were tested in China. At the time of publication, the Chinese Embassy in Washington did not comment on the decision regarding DeepSeek.