Pentagon creating software 'do not buy' list to keep out Russia, China

The Pentagon is working on a software “do not buy” list to close its supply chain to software code originating from Russia and China, a top Pentagon acquisitions official said on Friday.

Ellen Lord, the Under Secretary of Defense for Acquisition and Sustainment, told reporters the Pentagon has been working for six months on a “do not buy” list of software vendors. The list is meant to help the Department of Defense’s acquisitions staff and industry partners avoid purchasing problematic code for the Pentagon and suppliers.

“What we are doing is making sure that we do not buy software that Russian or Chinese provenance for instance, and quite often that’s difficult to tell at first glance because of holding companies,” she told reporters gathered in a conference room near her Pentagon office.

(Reporting by Mike Stone; Editing by Bernadette Baum)