The Microsoft announcement of its discontinuance of using China based engineers to support the Defense Department cloud computing system came only after a ProPublica investigation. It revealed that Microsoft used the Chinese engineers in maintaining DOD’s computers with minimal supervision by U.S. personnel. The investigation was revealed in an article on July 15 which said, among other things, that the use of the Chinese engineers to oversee the DOD computers has been in place for nearly ten years but was only publicly reported in the July article. Here is the July 15 article: https://www.propublica.org/article/microsoft-digital-escorts-pentagon-defense-department-china-hackers China’s government has passed a law requiring all Chinese citizens working or partnering with companies outside China, must gather and communicate all information that is gathered in that work, to the Chinese Government . The law is not a request but rather a requirement and it is strictly enforced.
According to the ProPublica article: “Over the years, various people involved in the work, including a Microsoft cybersecurity leader, warned the company that the arrangement is inherently risky, those people told ProPublica…” The possible damage to national security based on information flow to the Chinese government is presently unknown.
Jeffrey Newman is a national whistleblower lawyer. He can be reached at Jeff@JeffNewmanLaw.com.
