The Australian government announced a complete ban on the use of the AI chatbot DeepSeek, developed in China, on all government devices, citing national security risks.
Tony Burke, Australian Federal Minister for Home Affairs (Photo by Tony Burke, www.tonyburke.com.au)
According to the Australian Financial Review (AFR) on the 5th (local time), Tony Burke, Australia's Federal Minister for Home Affairs, announced the day before that the AI chatbot would be blocked on all government devices following the assessment by national security agencies that the use of DeepSeek could pose unacceptable risks.
Although the measure currently applies only to government devices, Minister Burke strongly warned all Australian citizens to carefully monitor how online platforms use their data and to take steps to protect their personal information.
He stated, “AI is a technology with tremendous potential and opportunities, but if it is judged to pose a national security risk, the government will take immediate action,” adding, “This measure is not targeted at any specific country.”
The AI chatbot DeepSeek, released last week, claimed to deliver performance far exceeding the existing ChatGPT level at a much lower cost, attracting global attention. Immediately after this announcement, shares of the U.S. semiconductor company Nvidia dropped by 17%, wiping out about 60 billion U.S. dollars from the market.
According to cybersecurity company Netskope, from last Tuesday to Thursday, the use of DeepSeek among corporate customers worldwide increased by 1,052%. Netskope stated, “Last week, 48% of all our clients used DeepSeek to some extent.”
Concerns have also been raised that the use of DeepSeek could cause security and privacy issues. The U.S. White House announced last week that it is investigating the possibility that DeepSeek could threaten national security.
Stephanie Foster, Deputy Minister for Home Affairs, emphasized, “All government agencies must delete any installed DeepSeek software and take measures to prevent its reinstallation, and report the implementation results to the Department of Home Affairs.”
Cybersecurity expert David Cullen said, “This measure follows the same precedent as the previous ban on TikTok,” emphasizing, “If there are cybersecurity issues, the government must devise countermeasures.” He added, “China is particularly interested in what activities the Australian government is conducting,” and stressed, “We must prevent confidential information and intellectual property from leaking to Chinese servers.”
The New South Wales (NSW) Customer Service Department, led by Sydney, is also reported to have independently blocked the use of DeepSeek last week.
Jung Dong-chul, Hanho Times Reporter
※This article was written using content provided by Hanho Times (www.hanhotimes.com).
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