Finance ministry asks officers, staff not to use ChatGPT, DeepSeek, flags data risks – The Times of India

NEW DELHI: Officers and staff in the finance ministry have been asked not to download or use AI tools, such as ChatGPT and DeepSeek in their office computers as they pose confidentiality risks to official data and documents.
“It has been determined that AI tools and AI apps (such as ChatGPT, DeepSeek etc) in office computers and devices pose risks for confidentiality of govt data and documents,” said a Jan 29 note from the department of expenditure. “It is therefore advised that use of AI tools/AI apps in office devices may be strictly avoided. This may be brought to the notice of all employees,” according to the note.
Several countries such as Australia and Italy have taken measures to protect their systems from any adverse impact of AI tools, such as China’s DeepSeek over data security worries. US, Australia, Italy, Taiwan have barred DeepSeek from govt devices, citing security concerns.
Chinese startup DeepSeek had stunned the world with the launch of its cutting edge AI tool, which it says surpasses OpenAi’s ChatGpt and others and costs much less than what global tech giants have poured into developing such tools. The rise of DeepSeek has also triggered data safety worries.