Australia bans DeepSeek on government devices over security risk

Due to what it claims is a security risk that the startup’s Chinese artificial intelligence ( AI ) technology poses, Australia has banned DeepSeek from all government computers and systems.

In January, DeepSeek stunned the world by releasing a bot that matched US competitors ‘ performance levels and claimed to cost significantly less to train.

Billions of dollars were wiped off share markets globally, including in Australia, where stocks tied to AI- such as steelmaker Brainchip- fell strongly immediately.

The American government has argued that the phone’s Chinese roots are to blame for the “unacceptable threat” it poses to national security.

DeepSeek has been approached for remark.

Australia’s move particularly requires any federal institutions to “prevent the use or installation of DeepSeek materials, applications and online services”, as well as remove any previously installed, on any state program or machine.

A wide range of workers, including those employed by the Bureau of Meteorology and the Australian Electoral Commission, may not be able to use the national resources.

It is less obvious if it means that DeepSeek will be banned from computers in the open market, including in schools.

The device restrictions does not apply to private individuals.

European nations have a history of being wary of Chinese technology, particularly Huawei, a telecoms company, and TikTok, a social media platform that has been restricted on national security grounds.

DeepSeek appeared to be a different approach at first, having quickly become the most popular free game in the UK and the US.

President Donald Trump referred to it as a “wake up contact” for the US, but he added that if AI prices were to be lowered, it might be a good development.

Since then, nevertheless, questions about it have started to be voiced.

An American technology secretary recently said in January that places needed to be “very mindful” about DeepSeek, citing “data and protection” concerns.

Italy, which partially blocked ChatGPT over private concerns in March 2023, has already banned the software.

Officials in South Korea, Ireland, and France have all begun inquiries into how DeepSeek businesses user data on China machines.

Karoline Leavitt, the press secretary for the White House, has also stated that the US is currently looking into achievable safety concerns.

The US Navy apparently forbids its people from using DeepSeek, but it has not yet confirmed this to the BBC.

Usually, AI tools will assess the causes sent to them to increase their product.

Similar to DeepSeek, this is true of apps like Google Gemini and ChatGPT.

All of them collect and preserve information, including contact names and dates of birth.

Security experts have previously cautioned those working in sensitive or national security areas against the possibility that chatbots ‘ contents might be kept and analyzed by those tools ‘ creators.