THE FIRST HIT IS FREE: China defends DeepSeek after US ban of its AI from government systems.

The agencies should remove DeepSeek and its affiliated products, as well as third party products and services developed using DeepSeek, from their IT systems, the Department of Homeland Security said in a notice made public on Monday.

The department’s order, dating back to late July, also blocks civilian agencies from procuring DeepSeek products and services. DeepSeek is one of China’s leading and best-known AI companies and its open-source models are widely available in countries including the United States. They are mostly free to use.

The notice in the Federal Register alleges that DeepSeek’s models “present multiple threat vectors.” It said concerns include that its servers are located in China and that Chinese authorities’ could potentially access private company infrastructure and sensitive U.S. data.

DeepSeek looks like a great way for Beijing to engage in espionage and IP theft with the victims doing all the work.