US DHS Orders Federal Agencies to Remove DeepSeek AI Technology from IT Systems

The United States Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has formally notified federal agencies that they are required to remove artificial intelligence technology developed by the Chinese company DeepSeek from their IT systems. This action aims to mitigate potential cybersecurity risks and data leakage concerns.

According to an order signed by DHS Secretary Markwayne Mullin, all IT products and services developed by DeepSeek and its affiliated companies are excluded from federal agency procurement. Furthermore, any third-party products or services that utilize or integrate DeepSeek technology must also be removed from existing federal IT infrastructure.

The DHS stated in the order that DeepSeek models pose "multiple threats," emphasizing that the Chinese government has broad authority to access DeepSeek's private infrastructure. The department warned that these models could contain malware or other security vulnerabilities and have the capability to collect personally identifiable information, potentially enabling "tracking or digital fingerprinting" of users. Additionally, the processing of queries and responses through DeepSeek-related applications could result in sensitive data being transmitted to the People's Republic of China during use by the US government or its suppliers.

This command was issued under the Federal Acquisition Supply Chain Security Act of 2018, following a review of recommendations and supporting materials from the Federal Acquisition Security Council. Although the order was actually signed on July 24, 2026, the DHS publicly announced it on October 19 and published it in the Federal Register the next day, marking the formal entry into public enforcement of the ban.