Federal Register Briefly Used Chinese AI Tool, FBI Calls It Malicious

The Federal Register, the official daily journal of the United States federal government, reportedly incorporated an open‑source Chinese artificial‑intelligence search tool into its website for a brief period. The tool, designed to enhance search functionality by providing AI‑generated summaries and keyword extraction, was deployed as a temporary experiment to test performance improvements and user experience enhancements.

According to the agency’s internal communications, the experiment was initiated in early March and discontinued within a week after a review identified compatibility issues with the Register’s existing security protocols and concerns over the tool’s data handling practices. The Federal Register’s IT team noted that the open‑source code, while publicly available, was maintained by a Chinese developer community, raising questions about potential foreign influence and the need for rigorous vetting of third‑party software in government systems.

The incident has prompted the agency to reaffirm its commitment to using only vetted, secure software for public-facing services. While no data breaches were reported, the brief use of the Chinese AI tool has highlighted the importance of maintaining strict oversight over the integration of foreign‑origin open‑source components in federal digital infrastructure.