National security experts raise concerns after Microsoft AI exposed as avenue for Chinese spying.
Published July 15, 2025 Fox News
A new ProPublica report accused Microsoft of allowing China-based engineers to assist with Pentagon cloud AI systems with inadequate guardrails in an effort to scale up its government contracting business, raising espionage concerns from national security experts.
The report cited current and former employees and government contractors who worked on a cloud computing program deployed by Microsoft in 2016 that would allow the tech giant to sell its cloud AI services to the government, known as a "digital escort" framework.
The security measure, meant to meet federal contracting regulations, was effectively a program that included a "digital escort" chaperone for global cybersecurity officials, such as those based in China, so they can work on agency computing systems.
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Defense Department guidelines require that people handling sensitive data be U.S. citizens or permanent residents.
According to sources who spoke to ProPublica, including some who had intimate familiarity with the hiring process for the $18-per-hour "digital escort" position, the tech employees being hired to do the supervising lacked the adequate tech expertise to prevent a rogue Chinese employee from hacking the system or turning over classified information to the CCP.
The sources elaborated that the escorts, often former military personnel, were hired for their security clearances more than their technical abilities and often lacked the skills to evaluate code being used by the engineers they were supervising.
In China, people are governed by sweeping laws compelling government cooperation with data collection efforts.
Microsoft's cloud was infiltrated in 2023 by Chinese hackers, and a report outlined security failures that allowed hackers to get in. (Getty Images)
"If ProPublica’s report turns out to be true, Microsoft has created a national embarrassment that endangers our soldiers, sailors, airmen and marines. Heads should roll, those responsible should go to prison and Congress should hold extensive investigations to uncover the full extent of potential compromise," said Michael Lucci, the CEO and founder of State Armor Action, a conservative group with a mission to develop and enact state-level solutions to global security threats.
"Microsoft or any vendor providing China with access to Pentagon secrets verges on treasonous behavior and should be treated as such."
"This is like asking the fox to guard the henhouse and arming the chickens with sticks in case the fox gets mad," Michael Sobolik, a Hudson Institute foreign policy senior fellow, added. "It beggars belief."
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Microsoft uses its escort system to handle sensitive government information that falls below "classified," which includes "data that involves the protection of life and financial ruin," ProPublica reported. At the Defense Department, the data is categorized as "Impact Level" four and five, which ProPublica reported includes materials directly supporting military operations.
A Microsoft spokesperson defended the company's "digital escort" model, saying all personnel and contractors with privileged access must pass federally approved background checks.
Fox news also reminded subscribers of Microsoft's use of AI to terrorize millions during COVID-19.
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