Warning issued over Chinese AI tool DeepSeek: A threat to U.S. data security?

A new artificial intelligence tool, DeepSeek, is raising serious national security concerns after cybersecurity experts discovered hidden code that could transfer user data directly to the Chinese government.

DeepSeek made headlines last week for developing an AI model at a fraction of the cost of its American competitors, like OpenAI. However, cybersecurity experts warn that the real danger may lie in its hidden connections to China’s state-controlled servers.

Direct Link to China?

Ivan Tsarynny, CEO of Feroot Security, revealed to ABC News that DeepSeek contains programming capable of sending user data to CMPassport.com, an online registry for China Mobile—a telecommunications giant owned and operated by the Chinese government.

“We’ve identified direct links to servers in China, controlled by the government,” said Tsarynny. “This is something we have never seen before at this level.”

DeepSeek users may be unknowingly creating accounts registered in China, making their search history, login credentials, and online behavior accessible to Chinese state systems.

China Mobile’s Troubled History

China Mobile was banned from operating in the U.S. in 2019 due to national security concerns. The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) delisted it from the New York Stock Exchange in 2021 and later classified it as a national security threat in 2022.

“This is one of the most blatant examples of suspected Chinese government surveillance,” said John Cohen, former acting Undersecretary for Intelligence and Analysis at the Department of Homeland Security. “The backdoor has not only been discovered but is wide open.”

Calls for an Immediate Ban

Lawmakers are now demanding urgent action.

“This is alarming,” said Rep. Josh Gottheimer (D-NJ), a member of the House Intelligence Committee. “We need to ban DeepSeek from all government devices immediately and alert the public about the risks.”

Adding to the concerns, DeepSeek’s terms of service state that its operations are governed by the laws of the People’s Republic of China, further raising fears over its data privacy policies.

As U.S. officials and cybersecurity experts dig deeper into DeepSeek’s operations, the question remains: Is America’s data at risk?