WASHINGTON — The Department of Homeland Security has ordered DeepSeek products out of civilian federal computer systems and barred agencies from buying them.
The order covers more than the Chinese company’s own tools. Third-party products and services built using DeepSeek implementations must also be removed from civilian agency information technology, according to the department’s notice.
The notice names Hangzhou DeepSeek Artificial Intelligence Co., Ltd and its affiliated entities. The filing hit the Federal Register’s public inspection list on Oct. 19. Formal publication followed on Oct. 20.
DHS said the models pose “multiple threat vectors.”
“may result in the transfer of sensitive data to the PRC if used by US government employees or vendors”
The department also said agency use “could produce actionable intelligence on US persons and/or government agencies. The models themselves may contain malware or other security vulnerabilities.”
Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin signed the order himself. For authority, the notice points to the Federal Acquisition Supply Chain Security Act of 2018, and to a recommendation — plus the evidence behind it — from the Federal Acquisition Security Council.
In a July memo made public Monday, DHS told federal agencies to monitor flows of traffic in and out of government websites to address potential risks from DeepSeek, according to Reuters.
The government-wide civilian order follows narrower steps taken earlier. At the Commerce Department and the Navy, DeepSeek was already off government devices, Reuters reported. New York, Tennessee and Virginia had moved in the same direction at state level.
Reuters got no immediate comment from the Chinese Embassy in Washington.
Questions go to a team at the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency that handles FASCSA orders — its FASCSA Order Implementation Team, in the Cybersecurity Division. The docket number is DHS-2026-0628.
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