Microsoft pulls the plug on IDF tech over alleged Gaza surveillance

Following a review, the company concluded that the Israeli military used Microsoft's Azure to store large volumes of phone call recordings from Gaza and the West Bank. A senior defense source on Thursday night said that Microsoft’s decision to cut off intelligence Unit 8200 from cloud and artificial intelligence services was not causing any harm to the IDF’s operations. 

Earlier Thursday, Microsoft said it disabled a set of cloud and AI services used by a unit within the Defense Ministry after an internal review found preliminary evidence supporting media reports of a surveillance system in Gaza and the West Bank. Brad Smith, Microsoft’s president, said the company opened the review after an article by The Guardian alleged activity by an IDF unit. 

A joint investigation published in early August by The Guardian, Israeli-Palestinian publication +972 Magazine, and Hebrew-language outlet Local Call reported that an Israeli military surveillance agency used Microsoft’s Azure to store large volumes of mobile phone call recordings from Palestinians in the West Bank and Gaza.

The Guardian investigation said Israel relied on Microsoft cloud for expansive surveillance of Palestinians. However, long before the IDF received assistance from Microsoft, it had its own native and independent capabilities in cyber, signals intelligence, and other technological means for tracking and learning critical details about adversaries and their plans. (Read More)