DHS orders agencies to purge DeepSeek-built tools from federal systems

The Department of Homeland Security issued Exclusion and Removal Order 2026-01 on July 24, 2026, barring about 430 federal civilian agencies from buying DeepSeek products and requiring removal of DeepSeek tools and third-party products or services built with its technology; Secretary Markwayne Mullin signed it. Published in the Federal Register on October 20 under docket DHS-2026-0628, the order also covers models distilled or fine-tuned from DeepSeek’s R1 and V3 and was issued under the 2018 Federal Acquisition Supply Chain Security Act after Federal Acquisition Security Council review. It excludes national security systems overseen by the Pentagon and the Director of National Intelligence. DHS cited risks that data entered into DeepSeek could reach China and security flaws in its iPhone app.