Governor Stitt bans DeepSeek from state-owned devices
OKLAHOMA CITY (KFOR) – The Oklahoma Governor's Office this month announced a ban of DeepSeek on all state-owned devices.
According to Governor Kevin Stitt, the Office of Management and Enterprise Services (OMES) conducted a review of the program DeepSeek and released its findings regarding its use on state devices.
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'We're not going to take chances when it comes to protecting Oklahomans' data,' said Governor Stitt. 'DeepSeek has too many security risks, and we're not about to let foreign adversaries have access to our state's information. This is about keeping Oklahoma safe and making smart decisions for our future.'
The decision to ban DeepSeek stems from several key concerns noted Gov. Stitt:
Security Risks: DeepSeek collects extensive user data, including chat history, uploaded files, and IP address information, all of which is stored in China. This violates the state chief information officer's data storage standard and presents a serious cybersecurity threat. DeepSeek has also been the target of significant cyberattacks, exposing sensitive information.
Regulatory Compliance Issues: Many state agencies are required to follow strict data protection regulations, including FERPA, HIPAA, IRS Pub 1075, and others. DeepSeek's lack of compliance features creates a risk of non-compliance, potentially exposing state data to bad actors within the Chinese Communist Party and violating Executive Order 2024-11.
Susceptibility to Adversarial Manipulation: DeepSeek-R1 has demonstrated a high vulnerability to adversarial manipulation, making it possible for bad actors to bypass safety measures and generate harmful content.
Lack of Robust Security Safeguards: DeepSeek does not have a layered security architecture, leaving it open to security breaches and ethical violations. Additionally, the app contains weak encryption, increasing the risk of data leaks.
Read full letter from OMES here.
Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
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