Microsoft blocks Israel from accessing Gaza intelligence data on its cloud servers
Tech giant says IDF Unit 8200 'broke its terms of service' by storing surveillance data on its platform
Microsoft has cut off access for Israel’s military to parts of its cloud and artificial intelligence services, after alleging the IDF’s intelligence branch Unit 8200 used its Azure platform to support surveillance on Palestinians citizens in Gaza.
In a statement to employees on 25 September, Microsoft president and vice chair Brad Smith wrote: “We do not provide technology to facilitate mass surveillance of civilians. We have applied this principle in every country around the world, and we have insisted on it repeatedly for more than two decades.”
According to the Jewish News Syndicate, the move follows an investigation by The Guardian newspaper conducted with +972 Magazine and Local Call, two far-left Israeli news sites, which accused Unit 8200 of having built a vast system to collect, store and analyse millions of phone calls from Palestinians in Gaza and Judea and Samaria.
Smith added: “While our review is ongoing, we have found evidence that supports elements of The Guardian’s reporting. This evidence includes information relating to [the Israeli Ministry of Defence’s] consumption of Azure storage capacity in the Netherlands and the use of AI services.”
He emphasised that the decision did not involve accessing Israeli military data but was based on Microsoft’s own internal records. “At no point has Microsoft accessed IMOD’s customer content. Rather, the review has focused on Microsoft’s own business records, including financial statements, internal documents, and email and messaging communications,” he said.
According to Smith, Microsoft informed Israel’s Ministry of Defence that it had ceased and disabled “specified IMOD subscriptions and their services, including their use of specific cloud storage and AI services and technologies.”
He reiterated that the company had made clear to Israeli officials that it would not allow its technology to be used in mass civilian surveillance: “We have reviewed this decision with IMOD and the steps we are taking to ensure compliance with our terms of service, focused on ensuring our services are not used for mass surveillance of civilians.”
The Guardian reported that after its initial story, Unit 8200 quickly transferred its massive data trove out of Microsoft’s Netherlands servers, reportedly moving it to Amazon Web Services.
Smith added that the move “does not impact the important work that Microsoft continues to do to protect the cybersecurity of Israel and other countries in the Middle East, including under the Abraham Accords.”
A report in news outlet YNet suggests that Israel has “contributed far more to Microsoft’s cyber strength than the company has contributed to Israel”, writing that Unit 8200 graduates launched companies such as Adallom, Wiz and Secure Islands, later purchased by Microsoft, generating billions for the company.
YNet adds: “From this perspective, Microsoft’s decision feels like turning its back on the very well from which it has drawn.”
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