{"slug": "dhs-cracks-down-on-chinas-deepseek-as-ai-competition-intensifies-multiple-threat", "title": "DHS cracks down on China’s DeepSeek as AI competition intensifies: ‘Multiple threat vectors’", "summary": "The Department of Homeland Security ordered federal civilian agencies to remove all DeepSeek-affiliated products, including third-party services built using DeepSeek, from their IT systems and barred future purchases of the Chinese AI company's products and services. DHS issued the notice under the Federal Acquisition Supply Chain Security Act of 2018 after a review of a recommendation from the Federal Acquisition Security Council, stating DeepSeek's models \"present multiple threat vectors\" and that their use \"may result in the transfer of sensitive data to the People's Republic of China.\" The notice gave no deadline and did not detail the security concerns, following earlier bans by the Commerce Department, the US Navy and New York State on DeepSeek use.", "body_md": "# DHS cracks down on China’s DeepSeek as AI competition intensifies: ‘Multiple threat vectors’\n\nSee more of our coverage in your search results.\n\nThe Department of Homeland Security has ordered federal civilian agencies to remove AI developed by China’s DeepSeek from their systems – the latest blow to a top Chinese model that has [surged in popularity](https://nypost.com/2026/06/22/business/cheap-chinese-ai-models-are-quickly-gaining-customers-across-the-us-market/).    \n\nCivilian agency IT systems must weed out all products affiliated with the Chinese AI company, including third-party services developed using DeepSeek, according to a DHS notice. The order also forbids any future purchases of DeepSeek’s products and services.\n\nThe DHS order said the Chinese company’s models “present multiple threat vectors” and that use of its products “may result in the transfer of sensitive data to the [People’s Republic of China] if used by US government employees or vendors.”\n\nDHS issued the order under the Federal Acquisition Supply Chain Security Act of 2018, following a review of a recommendation and supporting evidence from the Federal Acquisition Security Council. The notice didn’t elaborate on the security concerns that motivated the decision or give a deadline for agencies to take action.\n\nDeepSeek, founded by Liang Wenfeng, is one of several Chinese models that offer [cheaper alternatives](https://nypost.com/business/what-is-deepseek-all-about-chinas-latest-ai-model/) to leading US products from Anthropic and OpenAI. While their performance has lagged behind top US models, the gap has narrowed over the past year by some measures. \n\nDeepSeek burst onto the AI scene early last year showcasing its cheaper models – which sent major US tech stocks — including Nvidia, Microsoft and Tesla — into a [stunning $1 trillion rout](https://nypost.com/2025/01/27/business/nvidia-shares-fall-12-as-chinese-ai-startup-deepseek-triggers-panic/).\n\nDeepSeek is a so-called [open-weight model](https://nypost.com/2026/10/09/business/here-are-10-terms-you-need-to-know-to-understand-artificial-intelligence/) that can be customized more easily than the closed models built by Anthropic, Google and OpenAI. Weights refer to the trained parameters including source code and training data of the model, which are kept under wraps in closed models, but made public in open models.\n\nThe Trump administration has been increasingly wary about China’s breakneck pace in AI development and reported efforts by Chinese firms to rip off domestic AI technology.\n\nThe Commerce Department last year banned DeepSeek from government devices, while the US Navy directed all its members not to use the model because of potential security concerns.\n\nNew York State banned DeepSeek from government devices and networks due to “serious concerns” over potential data privacy and censorship risks posed by the app.", "url": "https://wpnews.pro/news/dhs-cracks-down-on-chinas-deepseek-as-ai-competition-intensifies-multiple-threat", "canonical_source": "https://nypost.com/2026/10/19/business/dhs-cracks-down-on-chinas-deepseek-as-ai-competition-intensifies-multiple-threat-vectors/", "published_at": "2026-10-19 22:32:06+00:00", "updated_at": "2026-10-19 22:46:23.419069+00:00", "lang": "en", "topics": ["ai-policy", "artificial-intelligence", "large-language-models"], "entities": ["Department of Homeland Security", "DeepSeek", "Federal Acquisition Security Council", "Liang Wenfeng", "Commerce Department", "US Navy", "New York State", "Anthropic"], "also_reported_by": [], "alternates": {"html": "https://wpnews.pro/news/dhs-cracks-down-on-chinas-deepseek-as-ai-competition-intensifies-multiple-threat", "markdown": "https://wpnews.pro/news/dhs-cracks-down-on-chinas-deepseek-as-ai-competition-intensifies-multiple-threat.md", "text": "https://wpnews.pro/news/dhs-cracks-down-on-chinas-deepseek-as-ai-competition-intensifies-multiple-threat.txt", "jsonld": "https://wpnews.pro/news/dhs-cracks-down-on-chinas-deepseek-as-ai-competition-intensifies-multiple-threat.jsonld"}}