This is your US-China CyberPulse: Defense Updates podcast.

Welcome to US-China CyberPulse — Ting here, and, listeners, if you want less drama and more defense, you’re in the right place. This week’s US cybersecurity headlines have been as relentless as a DDoS attack in rush hour, so let’s cut straight to the code.

First: big noise at the Pentagon. The Defense Department just shut the backdoor on an old vulnerability: the use of China-based IT staff by US cloud service vendors. After ProPublica revealed that Microsoft used engineers in China to work on sensitive Defense systems for nearly a decade, the Pentagon announced a strict ban — only personnel from non-adversarial countries may work on DoD cloud systems now, with strict digital audit trails and competent supervision required for any foreign experts. The message, in classic DoD fashion: if you want to touch the code, you’d better not have a Beijing ZIP code. Microsoft quickly pledged compliance and swore off using China-based engineers for US military work. The outcome? One less vector for potential Chinese cyber-espionage hiding in the cloud.

But that’s just the public sector. Turning to the private side, let’s talk TikTok. The saga continues, with the latest data governance shakeup: the US spin-off will now license its content-recommendation code from ByteDance, but all US user data sits in Oracle’s Texas data centers. Sound familiar? That’s because Project Texas already kicked off that isolation model a few years ago, but this time the firewall is tighter... at least on paper. Oracle apparently gets to peek at the recommendation algorithm but, skeptics say, TikTok’s China-based engineers could still influence what you see in your feed. So, score one for better data protection, but have we stopped the subtle sway of algorithmic soft power? Let’s just say, the algorithm has not been fully disarmed.

Now, on the financial front, the SEC just rolled out a Cross-Border Task Force laser-focused on fraud by foreign—especially Chinese—firms in US capital markets. The SEC’s move comes hot on the heels of high-profile cases like Didi Chuxing and Cloopen Group, and it’s meant to beef up cross-agency teamwork to smoke out risks where governmental control meets Wall Street. For US auditors and underwriters, that’s your cue: get your compliance act together—audits and disclosures are about to face next-level scrutiny.

And let’s not overlook tech innovation. The US is pouring more dollars into spyware and AI-driven defense tools than ever before—this on the heels of leaks documenting how Chinese firms like GoLaxy are prepping AI-powered influence ops for US soil. Federal agencies are pushing to lock down critical AI technologies and rethink chip exports that could fuel adversaries’ surveillance tools.

Internationally, US government policy is shifting fast, with more collaboration among allies on cyberthreat intelligence and tech supply chain protection, especially as new tools like quantum-safe encryption start rolling out. On Capitol Hill, policymakers like Rep. Eli Crane are demanding tougher controls on tech sharing and more robust domestic AI R&D to blunt China’s strategic edge.

Thanks for tuning in, listeners! For more sharp takes on US-China cyber showdowns, don’t forget to subscribe. This has been a quiet please production, for more check out quiet please dot ai.

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