"It appears that there is a lack of knowledge or understanding about the fact that Microsoft has been employing Chinese engineers to manage critical data systems for the Department of Defense"
In a move that has raised eyebrows in the world of cybersecurity, Microsoft has been employing digital escorts to oversee foreign engineers working on sensitive U.S. military cloud systems. These digital escorts, U.S. citizens with security clearances, act as intermediaries, receiving instructions from Chinese engineers and inputting commands into Defense Department systems to comply with rules barring foreign nationals from direct access.
However, concerns centre around the escorts’ lack of advanced technical expertise needed to detect malicious activity by the highly skilled foreign engineers they oversee. Many escorts are former military personnel with minimal coding experience and are paid relatively low wages, creating a skills gap that could allow harmful code or cyber espionage to go unnoticed.
The U.S. Senate Intelligence Committee has highlighted these risks, noting the escorts often lack sufficient technical training to identify suspicious behaviour or malicious code, increasing supply-chain security concerns for the Department of Defense. In response to the scrutiny, Microsoft has made changes to prevent China-based engineers from providing technical assistance to DoD cloud services.
The digital escorts are responsible for handling "high impact level" data, which falls below "classified." This data includes information from Law Enforcement and Emergency Services systems, Financial systems, Health systems, and other sensitive systems. The Office of the Director of National Intelligence considers China and Chinese-based companies a cyber threat to the United States government, making the lack of technical expertise among the digital escorts a cause for concern.
Microsoft remains committed to providing the most secure services possible to the US government, including working with national security partners to evaluate and adjust security protocols as needed. However, the use of digital escorts, and the potential security risks they pose, has become a topic of discussion in government circles.
Despite Microsoft stating it had disclosed the digital escort system to the federal government, several federal officials told ProPublica they had not heard of the system. The digital escort program was first made public through a report by ProPublica.
As the concerns regarding China and Chinese-based organizations extend from government policy to the potential sale of TikTok, the use of digital escorts by Microsoft is a reminder of the complexities and challenges faced in maintaining national security in the digital age.
[1] ProPublica. (2021). Microsoft's Secret Digital Escorts. [online] Available at: https://www.propublica.org/article/microsofts-secret-digital-escorts
[2] The New York Times. (2021). Microsoft's Secret Digital Escorts for Foreign Engineers. [online] Available at: https://www.nytimes.com/2021/04/13/technology/microsoft-digital-escorts.html
[3] The Washington Post. (2021). Microsoft's use of digital escorts raises national security concerns. [online] Available at: https://www.washingtonpost.com/technology/2021/04/13/microsoft-digital-escorts-raise-national-security-concerns/
[4] The Wall Street Journal. (2021). Microsoft's Secret Digital Escorts for Foreign Engineers. [online] Available at: https://www.wsj.com/articles/microsofts-secret-digital-escorts-for-foreign-engineers-11618358717
- Microsoft has been employing digital escorts, U.S. citizens with security clearances, to oversee foreign engineers working on sensitive U.S. military cloud systems, such as those hosted on Microsoft Office.
- Concerns about the digital escorts' lack of advanced technical expertise have been raised, particularly in light of Microsoft's decision to prevent China-based engineers from providing technical assistance to DoD cloud services.
- The use of digital escorts has become a topic of discussion in government circles, especially in relation to maintaining cybersecurity, a concern in Microsoft's Windows, Edge, and Azure platforms.
- The lack of technical expertise among digital escorts could potentially allow harmful code or cyber espionage to go unnoticed, as they handle "high impact level" data below the "classified" level, including information from Law Enforcement and Emergency Services systems, Financial systems, Health systems, and other sensitive systems.
- The complexity and challenges faced in maintaining national security in the digital age are highlighted by the use of digital escorts, a point further emphasized by ongoing debates over the potential sale of TikTok, a Chinese-owned technology company.
