Exclusive: Tech firm ends military unit’s access to AI and data services after Guardian reveals secret spy project

Microsoft has terminated the Israeli military’s access to technology it used to operate a powerful surveillance system that collected millions of Palestinian civilian phone calls made each day in Gaza and the West Bank, the Guardian can reveal.

Microsoft told Israeli officials late last week that Unit 8200, the military’s elite spy agency, had violated the company’s terms of service by storing the vast trove of surveillance data in its Azure cloud platform, sources familiar with the situation said.

The decision to cut off Unit 8200’s ability to use some of its technology results directly from an investigation published by the Guardian last month. It revealed how Azure was being used to store and process the trove of Palestinian communications in a mass surveillance programme.

  • nkat2112@sh.itjust.worksEnglish
    6·
    8 days ago

    I’m grateful for any good news that can help with the ongoing genocide:

    The extraordinary decision by Microsoft to end the spy agency’s access to key technology was made amid pressure from employees and investors over its work for Israel’s military and the role its technology has played in the almost two-year offensive in Gaza.

    Special thanks to the employees who put themselves at great financial risk (if not more than just financial). Protesting helps.

    Special thanks to The Guardian for the investigation:

    Within days of the Guardian publishing the investigation, Unit 8200 appears to have swiftly moved the surveillance data out of the country.

    OK, Bezos Oligarch, the pressure is on you now:

    According to sources familiar with the huge data transfer outside of the EU country, it occurred in early August. Intelligence sources said Unit 8200 planned to transfer the data to the Amazon Web Services cloud platform. Neither the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) nor Amazon responded to a request for comment.

    Another interesting quote:

    The project was so expansive that, according to sources from Unit 8200 – which is equivalent in its remit to the US National Security Agency – a mantra emerged internally that captured its scale and ambition: “A million calls an hour.”

    Wow, Israel needed NSA-level resources for their genocide.

    May Zionists get what they deserve.