The U.S. Department of Homeland Security has barred Chinese AI developer DeepSeek from its federal civilian agency systems.
The order took effect on July 24, according to a notice filed on Monday.
The ban applies to DeepSeek and its affiliates as well as any third-party products and servers built on DeepSeek.
"DeepSeek's models present multiple threat vectors," the order says.
DHS noted DeepSeek's servers are in China, where authorities have the power to access private companies' infrastructure and could potentially expose sensitive U.S. data. That information could be used with other public data to produce "actionable intelligence on U.S. persons and/or government programs," according to the order.
The DHS order also pointed to research that found security vulnerabilities in DeepSeek's iOS app.
The notice comes as DeepSeek is looking for fresh funding ahead of a potential public offering. Bloomberg reported Oct. 6 that the company was close to raising nearly $12 billion and could look to IPO next year.