The US Department of Homeland Security has banned federal civilian agencies from using products from the Chinese company “DeepSeek”. They must remove them from their IT systems and stop purchasing the companyʼs products and services, including those based on its technology.
This is stated in a document published in the US Federal Register.
The department explained its decision by saying that DeepSeek models pose “multiple threat vectors”. The department is concerned that the use of this product “could result in the transfer of sensitive data to the PRC if used by US government officials or suppliers”.
The order was signed on July 24 and published in the register on October 20. The ban applies to IT systems of federal civilian agencies, including the Department of the Treasury, the State Department, and the Department of Justice, but does not apply to the US Department of Defense.
At the same time, it provides that institutions may request exceptions to the restrictions in writing within 60 days of the issuance of the order.
Several US agencies, including the Commerce Department and the Navy, have previously banned the use of “DeepSeek” on government devices, Reuters reported. Several states (including New York, Tennessee and Virginia) have taken similar measures.
What is “DeepSeek”?
In January 2025, “DeepSeek” overtook ChatGPT to briefly become the most popular free app on the App Store. On the same day, the Chinese chatbot was subjected to a massive cyberattack.
“DeepSeek” was founded in 2023 by Liang Wenfeng, a 40-year-old graduate of the School of Information and Electronic Engineering. He set up a store for “Nvidia A100” chips, which are now banned from being exported to China. Media reports suggest that this may have prompted him to launch “DeepSeek”, combining these chips with cheaper, lower-end ones that are still available for import.
“DeepSeek” is based on the open-source “DeepSeek-V3” model. Some experts say that the model was developed for less than $6 million — competitors spend much more. However, other experts dispute this information.
“OpenAI” — the creator of the artificial intelligence chatbot “ChatGPT” — said on January 29 that Chinese companies are “constantly” trying to use American competitors to improve their AI models.
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