Security experts urge caution using DeepSeek AI chatbot because of China links

DeepSeek has emerged as one of the major rivals to the likes of ChatGPT and OpenAI, but some security experts are warning people to be cautious about using the AI chatbot

Security experts are sounding the alarm about using the new AI chatbot DeepSeek, warning users about the app's ties to China and possible consequences for personal data privacy.

The chatbot has sent shockwaves through the AI market by becoming a contender against the likes of ChatGPT and OpenAI, even though it was reportedly developed with much less funding than its American competitors.

Concerns have been voiced because DeepSeek is headquartered in China, which experts fear could present "risks" for data protection. A string of prominent Chinese companies and technologies have recently been hit with sanctions—Huawei and TikTok being the most high-profile cases—amid apprehensions about the harvesting of data by the Chinese government for intelligence purposes.

The US has already declared it is scrutinizing the national security dangers associated with DeepSeek. Bill Conner, chief executive of the automation firm Jitterbit and ex-security consultant to UK and US governments, remarked that DeepSeek "represents a clear risk to any enterprise whose leadership values data privacy, security and transparency".

He advised: "Proactive and privacy-minded enterprises should do strict due diligence with all large language models (LLMs) and AI services, not just DeepSeek," he said. "But in this case, and as stated in their own privacy policy, DeepSeek is a shared cloud service run in China with data being stored in China — potentially introducing unknown risks to data privacy, compliance mandates and security controls."

Industry analysts at Forrester echoed this concerns, with several of its experts noting in a joint blog post that DeepSeek’s privacy policy acknowledged the app collected user data and could share it with “public authorities at its discretion”.

“The massive downloads of DeepSeek mean that thousands – and even millions of users – are experimenting and uploading what could be sensitive information into the app,” the analysts said.

“According to its privacy policy, DeepSeek explicitly says it can collect ‘your text or audio input, prompt, uploaded files, feedback, chat history, or other content’ and use it for training purposes. It also states it can share this information with law enforcement agencies and public authorities at its discretion.

“Educate and inform your employees on the ramifications of using this technology and inputting personal and company information into it.”

Professor Allen Tucker, professor of artificial intelligence and head of the intelligent data analysis group at Brunel University of London, said AI chatbots in general should be approached with caution.

“Both have been designed with no use-case in mind. They are essentially toys to make people go ‘wow’ rather than solve any genuine problem,” he said.

Comparing DeepSeek with market leader ChatGPT, Professor Tucker added: “They are also both deeply embedded in their countries’ politics and therefore need to be treated with a great deal of caution – try asking either of them about controversial topics and they will cover up, change topics or shut down the conversation.”