Description: Canadian cybersecurity company called Feroot Security, has linked DeepSeek to China Mobile, state – owned Chinese company closely related to the Chinese military. Feroot has stated that DeepSeek used fingerprinting methods to subtract sensitive data from devices which eventually ended up on servers within China and most probably the Chinese military. Although DeepSeek creators have published in the app’s privacy policy that data from customer eventually ends up in the People’s Republic of China, the latest findings prompted serious national security concerns especially within the US. With the TikTok affair still ongoing, DeepSeek seemed to have appeared as the alternative treasure trove of intelligence for China. China Mobile was initially sanctioned in 2019, when the US determined indisputable evidence to links with the Chinese state.
Impact: The US – China trade war seems to have rapidly progressed in the past couple of weeks, with Trump’s imposition of tariffs and the battle on the AI technology market. China has done significant damage to the AI – based industry with the introduction of DeepSeek as the latest findings indicate it was conceptualized to be used as an intelligence gathering tool. As time passes by the myth about DeepSeek becomes clearer as China has had a hard grip on the app since it’s conception. The US should be expected to respond adequately either by bolstering the position of AI developing companies such as OpenAI, Google, on the market and also tightening the grip around privacy regulations all the while strengthening digital and cybersecurity throughout the entire US establishment.