DeepSeek coding has the capability to transfer users’ data directly to the Chinese government

(NEW YORK) — DeepSeek, the explosive new artificial intelligence, tool that took the world by storm, has code hidden in its programming which has the built-in capability to send user data directly to the Chinese government, experts told ABC News.

DeepSeek caught Wall Street off guard last week when it announced it had developed its AI model for far less money than its American competitors, like OpenAI, which have invested billions. But the potential risk DeepSeek poses to national security may be more acute than previously feared because of a potential open door between DeepSeek and the Chinese government, according to cybersecurity experts.

Of late, Americans have been concerned about Byte Dance, the China-based company behind TikTok, which is required under Chinese law to share the data it collects with the Chinese government.

With DeepSeek, there’s actually the possibility of a direct path to the PRC hidden in its code, Ivan Tsarynny, CEO of Feroot Security, an Ontario-based cybersecurity firm focused on customer data protection, told ABC News.

“We see direct links to servers and to companies in China that are under control of the Chinese government. And this is something that we have never seen in the past,” Tsarynny said.

Users who register or log in to DeepSeek may unknowingly be creating accounts in China, making their identities, search queries, and online behavior visible to Chinese state systems.

Tsarynny says he used AI software to decrypt portions of DeepSeek’s code and found what appeared to be intentionally hidden programming that has the capability to send user data to one website: CMPassport.com, the online registry for China Mobile, a telecommunications company owned and operated by the Chinese government.

China Mobile was banned from operating in the U.S. by the FCC in 2019 due to concerns that “unauthorized access to customer…data could create irreparable damage to U.S. national security.” It was delisted from the New York Stock Exchange in 2021 and added to the FCC’s list of national security threats in 2022.

John Cohen, an ABC News contributor and former acting Undersecretary for Intelligence and Analysis for the Department of Homeland Security, said DeepSeek is a most blatant example of suspected surveillance by the Chinese government.

“China Mobile is part of a growing list of Chinese-based technology companies that have been determined to pose a risk to U.S. national security,” Cohen said .

“National security officials always suspect that technology sold by a Chinese-based company has a backdoor making that data accessible to the Chinese government. In this case, the back door’s been discovered, it’s been opened, and that’s alarming.”

“It’s alarming to say the least,” Rep. Josh Gottheimer (D-NJ), who serves on the House Intelligence Committee, told ABC News.

“I think we should ban DeepSeek from all government devices immediately. No one should be allowed to download it onto their device. And I think we have to inform the public,” Gottheimer said.

DeepSeek’s terms of service specify that they “shall be governed by the laws of the People’s Republic of China.”

DeepSeek’s privacy policy discloses that they collect all kinds of data including chat and search query history, keystroke patterns, IP addresses, and activity from other apps.

However, experts say it’s impossible to know what of this data DeepSeek is potentially sending to China Mobile.

Tsarynny’s analysis found that DeepSeek’s web tool creates a digital “fingerprint” for each unique user, which has the capability to track users’ activity not only while they use DeepSeek’s website, but all web activity going forward.

Rep. Raja Krishnamoorthi (D-IL), the top Democrat on the House Select Committee on the Strategic Competition Between the United States and the Chinese Communist Party, said the possibility of covert collection of DeepSeek user data by the Chinese government is “very disturbing.”

“I think there’s absolutely the intention by the CCP to collect data of Americans and user data worldwide,” Krishnamoorthi told ABC News. “This pattern of data collection is really familiar to people who study the use of CCP controlled-company apps and you use those apps at your own risk.”

DeepSeek, its hedge fund founder High-Flyer, and China Mobile did not respond to multiple requests for comment.

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