DHS Orders Federal Civilian Agencies to Remove DeepSeek AI From Their Systems

The Department of Homeland Security has ordered federal civilian agencies to remove technology from Chinese AI developer DeepSeek from their IT systems and to stop buying it, CNBC reported on October 20. The ban, made public on Monday, October 19, also covers third-party products and services built on DeepSeek’s models, which reaches well beyond the company’s own chatbot app.

What the order says

The order was originally issued on July 24 and applies to civilian departments including Treasury, State and Justice, but not the Department of Defense. DHS says DeepSeek’s models present multiple threat vectors, citing the risk that sensitive government data could be transferred to China and yield intelligence on Americans and federal programs, as well as possible malware and security flaws. It pointed to open-source research that found several critical vulnerabilities in DeepSeek’s iOS app. Agencies can seek exceptions, including delays in compliance, by sending DHS a written justification within 60 days of the order’s issuance. A notice of the order also appeared in the Federal Register.

How it fits the record

The step formalizes a patchwork of earlier limits: the Defense Information Systems Agency moved to block DeepSeek in January 2025, Commerce Department bureaus told staff that March it was banned on government devices, and Congress restricted its use in intelligence-community systems in December 2025. It also lines up with procurement rules such as the GSA’s LLM data-safeguarding clause for federal AI contracts and with bank regulators’ questions about AI agents and foreign models. American labs have pitched open alternatives, as in Reflection AI’s Beam open-weight model.

Open questions

The hardest part is the third-party clause. DeepSeek’s open weights have been fine-tuned and embedded in many tools, so agencies will need software inventories that show which model sits behind a product, not just which vendor sold it. China’s foreign ministry told Reuters it would safeguard the rights and interests of its companies, with spokesperson Mao Ning saying Beijing opposes over-generalizing national security and politicizing technology and trade issues. DeepSeek did not immediately respond to CNBC’s request for comment.

What to watch

How many agencies request exceptions within the 60-day window, whether contractors will have to certify that their products contain no DeepSeek components, and whether the Pentagon or state governments adopt matching rules for their own systems.