06:02 AM EDT, 07/21/2025 (MT Newswires) -- Microsoft ( MSFT ) said Friday that it will no longer use engineers based in China to provide technical support to the US military, after a ProPublica report prompted a directive from Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth to initiate a two-week review of the Pentagon's cloud contracts.

"In response to concerns raised earlier this week about US-supervised foreign engineers, Microsoft ( MSFT ) has made changes to our support for US Government customers to assure that no China-based engineering teams are providing technical assistance for DoD Government cloud and related services," Microsoft ( MSFT ) spokesperson Frank Shaw wrote on X.

The ProPublica report revealed that Microsoft ( MSFT ) had restricted foreign engineers from directly accessing sensitive cloud systems. The Chinese employees were overseen by U.S.-based 'digital escorts', who are contractors with security clearances. The report noted that these escorts often lacked the technical skills to detect potential security threats.

In a video posted on X on Friday, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said, "China will no longer have any involvement whatsoever in our cloud services, effective immediately."

Hegseth said a two-week review will be initiated to ensure similar practices are not being undertaken in any of the contracts involving the Department of Defense.