South Korea's Spy Agency Raises Alarm Over DeepSeek AI's Data Collection Practices

South Korea Spy Agency Says DeepSeek 'Excessively' Collects Personal Data

DeepSeek stores South Korean users' data in Chinese servers, NIS says South Korea's spy agency has accused Chinese AI app DeepSeek of "excessively" collecting personal data and using all input data to train itself, and questioned the app's responses to questions relating to issues of national pride. The National Intelligence Service (NIS) said it sent an official notice to government agencies last week urging them to take security precautions over the Artificial Intelligence app. "Unlike other generative AI services, it has been confirmed that chat records are transferable as it includes a function to collect keyboard input patterns that can identify individuals and communicate with Chinese companies' servers such as volceapplog.com," the NIS said in a statement issued on Sunday. Some government ministries in South Korea have blocked access to the app, citing security concerns, joining Australia and Taiwan in warning about or placing restrictions on DeepSeek. The NIS said DeepSeek gives advertisers unlimited access to user data and stores South Korean users' data in Chinese servers. Under Chinese law, the Chinese government would be able to access such information when requested, the agency added. DeepSeek also provided different answers to potentially sensitive questions in different languages, the NIS noted. It cited one such question as asking for the origin of kimchi - a spicy, fermented dish that is a staple in South Korea. When asked about it in Korean, the app said kimchi is a Korean dish, the NIS said. Asked the same question in Chinese, it said the dish originated from China, it said. DeepSeek's responses were corroborated by Reuters. The origin of kimchi has at times been a source of contention between South Koreans and Chinese social media users in recent years. DeepSeek has also been accused of censoring responses to political questions such as the 1989 Tiananmen Square crackdown, which prompt the app to suggest changing the subject: "Let's talk about something else." DeepSeek did not immediately respond to an emailed request for comment. When asked about moves by South Korean government departments to block DeepSeek, a Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson told a briefing on February 6 that the Chinese government attached great importance to data privacy and security and protected it in accordance with the law. The spokesperson also said Beijing would never ask any company or individual to collect or store data in breach of laws. © Thomson Reuters 2025

South Korea spy agency says DeepSeek 'excessively' collects personal data

SEOUL (Reuters) - South Korea's spy agency has accused Chinese AI app DeepSeek of "excessively" collecting personal data and using all input data to train itself, and questioned the app's responses to questions relating to issues of national pride. The National Intelligence Service (NIS) said it sent an official notice to government agencies last week urging them to take security precautions over the artificial intelligence app. "Unlike other generative AI services, it has been confirmed that chat records are transferable as it includes a function to collect keyboard input patterns that can identify individuals and communicate with Chinese companies' servers such as volceapplog.com," the NIS said in a statement issued on Sunday. Some government ministries in South Korea have blocked access to the app, citing security concerns, joining Australia and Taiwan in warning about or placing restrictions on DeepSeek. The NIS said DeepSeek gives advertisers unlimited access to user data and stores South Korean users' data in Chinese servers. Under Chinese law, the Chinese government would be able to access such information when requested, the agency added. DeepSeek also provided different answers to potentially sensitive questions in different languages, the NIS noted. It cited one such question as asking for the origin of kimchi - a spicy, fermented dish that is a staple in South Korea. When asked about it in Korean, the app said kimchi is a Korean dish, the NIS said. Asked the same question in Chinese, it said the dish originated from China, it said. DeepSeek's responses were corroborated by Reuters. The origin of kimchi has at times been a source of contention between South Koreans and Chinese social media users in recent years. DeepSeek has also been accused of censoring responses to political questions such as the 1989 Tiananmen Square crackdown, which prompt the app to suggest changing the subject: "Let's talk about something else." DeepSeek did not immediately respond to an emailed request for comment.When asked about moves by South Korean government departments to block DeepSeek, a Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson told a briefing on February 6 that the Chinese government attached great importance to data privacy and security and protected it in accordance with the law. The spokesperson also said Beijing would never ask any company or individual to collect or store data in breach of laws. (Reporting by Hyunsu Yim and additional reporting by Eduardo Baptista in Beijing; Editing by Ed Davies and Kate Mayberry)

South Korea spy agency says DeepSeek 'excessively' collects personal data

The National Intelligence Service (NIS) issued an official notice to government agencies last week, advising them to implement security measures regarding the artificial intelligence app DeepSeek. Several South Korean ministries have blocked access to the app due to security concerns, following the lead of Australia and Taiwan, which have also raised warnings or imposed restrictions on the app.South Korea's spy agency has accused Chinese AI app DeepSeek of "excessively" collecting personal data and using all input data to train itself, and questioned the app's responses to questions relating to issues of national pride. The National Intelligence Service (NIS) said it sent an official notice to government agencies last week urging them to take security precautions over the artificial intelligence app. "Unlike other generative AI services, it has been confirmed that chat records are transferable as it includes a function to collect keyboard input patterns that can identify individuals and communicate with Chinese companies' servers such as volceapplog.com," the NIS said in a statement issued on Sunday. Some government ministries in South Korea have blocked access to the app, citing security concerns, joining Australia and Taiwan in warning about or placing restrictions on DeepSeek. The NIS said DeepSeek gives advertisers unlimited access to user data and stores South Korean users' data in Chinese servers. Under Chinese law, the Chinese government would be able to access such information when requested, the agency added. DeepSeek also provided different answers to potentially sensitive questions in different languages, the NIS noted. It cited one such question as asking for the origin of kimchi - a spicy, fermented dish that is a staple in South Korea. When asked about it in Korean, the app said kimchi is a Korean dish, the NIS said. Asked the same question in Chinese, it said the dish originated from China, it said. DeepSeek's responses were corroborated by Reuters. The origin of kimchi has at times been a source of contention between South Koreans and Chinese social media users in recent years. DeepSeek has also been accused of censoring responses to political questions such as the 1989 Tiananmen Square crackdown, which prompt the app to suggest changing the subject: "Let's talk about something else." DeepSeek did not immediately respond to an emailed request for comment. When asked about moves by South Korean government departments to block DeepSeek, a Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson told a briefing on February 6 that the Chinese government attached great importance to data privacy and security and protected it in accordance with the law. The spokesperson also said Beijing would never ask any company or individual to collect or store data in breach of laws.

DeepSeek AI draws ire of spy agency over data hoarding and hot bias

The privacy and safety troubles continue to pile up for buzzy Chinese AI upstart DeepSeek. After having access blocked for lawmakers and federal employees in multiple countries, while also raising alarms about its censorship and safeguards, it has now attracted an official notice from South Korea's spy agency. The country's National Intelligence Service (NIS) has targeted the AI company over excessive collection and questionable responses for topics that are sensitive to the Korean heritage, as per Reuters. Recommended Videos "Unlike other generative AI services, it has been confirmed that chat records are transferable as it includes a function to collect keyboard input patterns that can identify individuals and communicate with Chinese companies' servers such as volceapplog.com," the agency was quoted as saying. This comes after a government notice asking different agencies and ministries to block employee access to DeepSeek over security alarms. Australia and Taiwan have already put such restrictions in place, and more countries are expected to follow suit. The core issue is that DeepSeek is reportedly offering its ad partners open access to user data, which the Chinese government can also get its hands on, as per local laws. According to The Korea Herald, the chatbot was also returning controversial answers to queries about culturally sensitive and contentious geopolitical topics. Notably, the chatbot delivers different answers when asked the same question in Korean and Chinese languages. According to The Korea Times, the agency will conduct further tests to assess the safety and security aspects in the near future. While security concerns have made headlines as the biggest concern with DeepSeek, experts are also worried about the responses it can generate. In an analysis by The Wall Street Journal, the AI coughed up worrying information such as the recipe to cook up bioweapons, a Nazi defense manifesto, and self-harm encouragement. In an analysis by fellow AI giant Anthropic, the company's CEO Dario Amodei mentioned that DeepSeek proved to be the worst AI model in their tests when it comes to generating extremely disturbing information such as the creation of bioweapons. Just over a week ago, researchers at Cisco also tested it against jailbreaking tools across six different categories, and it failed to block every single attack. In another round of tests by Qualys, the AI could only muster a 47% jailbreak pass rate. Then there are the concerns about leaking sensitive data and sharing it without any restraint. Cybersecurity researchers at Wiz recently discovered over a million lines of chat history containing sensitive information that was publicly accessible. DeepSeek plugged the flaw, but its commercial uptake remains a topic of hot debate. In the US, NASA has already banned employees from using DeepSeek, and so has the US Navy. Moreover, a bill seeking a DeepSeek ban on federal devices is also on the table.

Korea advises caution over DeepSeek use due to security concerns

Korea advises caution over DeepSeek use due to security concerns Nam Seok, Director of the Investigation and Coordination Bureau at the Personal Information Protection Commission, speaks during a briefing in Seoul, Feb. 7. Yonhap Korea's data protection regulator on Friday advised caution when using Chinese artificial intelligence (AI) startup DeepSeek's service, citing ongoing security concerns. The Personal Information Protection Commission (PIPC) issued the advisory after multiple Korean government ministries blocked internal access to the AI service this week amid concerns over the startup's data management practices. "Considering the continued security concerns posed during the use of DeepSeek's service, (we) advise using it with caution," the PIPC said in a briefing. The data protection body said it is conducting an analysis over the data being sent when using the service, and plans to come up with measures to ensure use of the service without personal data concerns. The advisory came after the PIPC sent an inquiry to the Chinese startup late last month for detailed information on its personal data collection policy. The PIPC said it made the inquiry through multiple channels, adding that it is cooperating with other data protection bodies around the world, including Britain's Information Commissioner's Office, over the issue. It said that it also plans to request cooperation from the Chinese side over the matter through official diplomatic channels. (Yonhap)

Conglomerates block access to DeepSeek amid security woes

The logo of DeepSeek is displayed alongside its artificial intelligence assistant app on a mobile phone in this illustration picture taken, Jan. 28. Reuters-Yonhap By Lee Min-hyung Major conglomerates in Korea are on track to block access to DeepSeek's artificial intelligence (AI) chatbot service amid escalating concerns over potential leaks of their confidential data to China, industry officials said Friday. The decision follows a similar move by the government, as global authorities increase scrutiny over the Chinese startup's service due to fears of data breaches. Hyundai Motor Group joined the bandwagon on Friday, preventing its affiliates from using the service for security reasons. The group notified its employees and executives of the decision for a similar reason. Under the latest measure, officials from the group's key affiliates, such as Hyundai Motor, Kia, Hyundai Mobis and Hyundai Glovis, are restricted from connecting to the Chinese platform. Employees from other major tech firms here -- such as Samsung Electronics, LG Electronics and SK hynix -- are also not allowed to use DeepSeek's R1 AI model on their laptops and desktops. Industry officials said conglomerates here will keep maintaining the policy until fears of data leaks from DeepSeek are fully resolved. "The move is part of our preemptive actions against potential data leaks to China," an official from the IT industry said. "We will keep implementing the policy by monitoring movement from our overseas counterparts." Financial firms also joined the list of companies blocking access to R1. Korea's four major banking groups -- KB, Shinhan, Hana and Woori -- have recently prohibited employees from accessing DeepSeek's service in their corporate network systems. Toss Bank and KakaoBank -- two major internet-only banks here, took the same measure. Key government authorities, such as the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, have taken a more agile approach by preemptively blocking access to R1 online. The National Assembly is moving to build a legal basis for such actions. Rep. Na Kyung-won of the ruling People Power Party proposed a bill to block access to R1 from major government authorities and state-run organizations. "DeepSeek secured more than 1.2 million Korean users with its free service launched last month, but the problem is that [there is no knowledge of] how their data is processed at servers in China," she said. Telecommunications and information technology industry players cut off network access to R1, as the possibility of a data leak can cause mass damage to the public. SK Telecom and LG Uplus advised its staff not to access the Chinese platform even with their personal computers. Naver and Kakao also made it a rule not to use any external AI services in their work.