Pentagon Staff Used DeepSeek’s Chatbot for Days Before Block
- Defense employees connected to Chinese server, official says
- Popularity of DeepSeek in US has raised security concerns
The Pentagon building in Arlington, Virginia.
Photographer: Tom Brenner/BloombergUS Defense Department employees connected their work computers to Chinese servers to access DeepSeek’s new AI chatbot for at least two days before the Pentagon moved to shut off access, according to a defense official familiar with the matter.
The Defense Information Systems Agency, which is responsible for the Pentagon’s IT networks, moved to block access to the Chinese startup’s website late Tuesday, the official and another person familiar with the matter said. Both asked not to be named because the information isn’t public.