DHS Bans DeepSeek AI Technology Across Federal Agencies Over Data Risks

Homeland Security orders removal of DeepSeek products from civilian agencies, citing fears that user data and PII could be transmitted to Beijing.

Threat Times Systems DeskOctober 19, 20262 min read

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Key points

DHS mandates federal agencies remove DeepSeek AI models and dependent third-party services.
Officials warn the account process collects PII and may digitally fingerprint users.
Previous restrictions by the Navy and Commerce Department preceded this broader ban.

The Department of Homeland Security has issued a directive banning the use of DeepSeek technology across most of the federal government. According to a notice posted on Monday, civilian agencies must remove products from the Chinese AI lab and any third-party services relying on its models.

Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin stated that DeepSeek’s account generation process collects personally identifiable information and may track or digitally fingerprint users. The administration fears this sensitive data could be transferred to the Chinese government. Mullin also warned that the AI models themselves might contain malware.

Context and Background

DeepSeek had already faced restrictions within specific branches of the U.S. government prior to this comprehensive ban. Both the Navy and the Department of Commerce previously instructed their personnel not to use DeepSeek’s models. The U.S. government deemed the Chinese AI lab a profound threat to national security, a stance solidified after the release of its R1 model early last year.

The R1 model caused significant disruption in the American AI industry by offering high capabilities at a fraction of the cost of U.S. counterparts. The stock market experienced a trillion-dollar wipeout around the time of the release, highlighting the economic volatility associated with rapid advancements in artificial intelligence from foreign competitors.

Who Is Affected

The ban applies to federal civilian agencies, including the Department of State, which must now purge DeepSeek products and related services. While American AI models still lead Chinese development, the gap is shrinking, raising concerns in Washington. Fellow Chinese lab Moonshot reignited these fears in July with its Kimi K3 model, intensifying debates over national security implications.

DeepSeek has also faced accusations of distillation, where advanced teacher model outputs train less-advanced student models. American AI giants like Anthropic accuse Chinese rivals of violating platform rules to improve their models through this process. Despite recent promises of increased cooperation via the US-China AI Dialogue, China hawks warn that these advancements could give Beijing a military upper hand.

What should you do?

Organizations should immediately audit their software inventory for any DeepSeek-related integrations or third-party services that utilize DeepSeek AI models. Security teams need to verify that no personally identifiable information has been processed through these systems since the initial release of the R1 model.

What to do and how to stay safe: DeepSeek

Conduct a thorough inventory audit to identify and remove any DeepSeek AI models or dependent third-party services from your network.
Review access logs to determine if any personally identifiable information was submitted to DeepSeek platforms through user accounts.
Monitor for signs of malware or unauthorized data exfiltration originating from previously used AI tools.
Await further guidance from the Department of Homeland Security regarding compliance timelines and reporting requirements.

Step-by-step guide: Mobile Device Security: How to Protect Data Beyond Passwords

General security guidance from the Threat Times newsroom. It is not confirmed advice from the organisations named in this story.