Microsoft Halts Cloud Services to Israeli Military Unit Over Surveillance Concerns
26 Sources
[1]
Microsoft cuts cloud services to Israeli military unit over Palestinian surveillance
Microsoft has cut off the Israel Ministry of Defense's access to some of its tech and services after an internal investigation found the organization appeared to be using its tech to store surveillance data on phone calls made by Palestinians. The tech giant announced on Thursday that it made the
[2]
Microsoft cuts off Azure surveillance support for Israel
Brad Smith says 'we do not provide technology to facilitate mass surveillance of civilians' The president of Microsoft has said it's cutting parts of the Israeli military off from Azure after reports that the army was using the platform in a mass surveillance operation against Palestinians in the
[3]
Microsoft cuts off some services to the Israeli military
Microsoft has stopped providing some services to the Israeli military, following an investigation into the use of the company's products to surveil Palestinian civilians. The US software giant said on Thursday it had found evidence that "supported elements" of a media investigation which claimed
[4]
Microsoft disables services to Israel defense unit after review
Sept 25 (Reuters) - Microsoft (MSFT.O), opens new tab on Thursday said it disabled a set of cloud and AI services used by a unit within the Israel Ministry of Defense (IMOD) after an internal review found preliminary evidence supporting media reports of a surveillance system in Gaza and West
[5]
Microsoft reduces Israel's access to cloud and AI products over reports of mass surveillance in Gaza
WASHINGTON (AP) -- Microsoft said Thursday it had disabled services to a unit within the Israeli military after a company review had determined its artificial intelligence and cloud computing products were being used to help carry out mass surveillance of Palestinians. The action comes after The
[6]
Microsoft cuts off cloud services to Israeli military unit after report of storing Palestinians' phone calls
Microsoft said Thursday that it has stopped providing certain services to a division of the Israeli Ministry of Defense. The company did not say which specific services it had stopped providing. The decision comes after the software company investigated an August report from The Guardian saying
[7]
Microsoft cuts off some services used by Israeli military unit
He emphasised that the review was ongoing: "I'll share more information in the coming days and weeks, when it's appropriate to do so." Last month's investigation by the Guardian, which collaborated with Israeli-Palestinian publication +972 Magazine and Hebrew-language outlet Local Call, found that
[8]
Microsoft Cuts Off Access to Tech That Israel Used to Surveil Palestinians
Israel collected millions of civilian phone calls made by Palestinians. Microsoft announced Thursday that it is cutting off access to some of its services provided to a unit of Israel's Ministry of Defense after learning that its technology was used to conduct a mass surveillance campaign against
[9]
Microsoft blocks Israel's use of its technology in mass surveillance of Palestinians
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
[10]
Microsoft cuts off Israeli military tech access that prompted Xbox boycott
50 years ago, Robert Redford made a definitive spy thriller that's never been surpassed Microsoft has reportedly cut off Israeli military access to its Azure cloud and AI technology that was being used to monitor millions of Palestinian civilians' phone calls, according to a new report from The
[11]
Microsoft blocks Israel's use of some services after review over mass surveillance of Palestinians
Haley Ott is the CBS News Digital international reporter, based in the CBS News London bureau. Microsoft says it has stopped providing some of its cloud and AI services to Israel's Ministry of Defense following a report in Britain's Guardian newspaper, which alleged Israel used the services to
[12]
Microsoft blocks Israeli military from some services after investigation finds 'evidence that supports' allegations of mass surveillance in Gaza
A report by The Guardian in August alleged close ties between Microsoft and Israeli military intelligence. Microsoft president Brad Smith says the company has "ceased and disabled" access to some of the services being used by the Israeli military following a review of allegations made by a
[13]
Microsoft blocks Israeli military's access to some cloud services to prevent mass surveillance - SiliconANGLE
Microsoft blocks Israeli military's access to some cloud services to prevent mass surveillance Microsoft Corp. said today it has stopped a unit in Israel's Defense Ministry from accessing some of its cloud services following an investigation into claims that it was using the company's Azure cloud
[14]
Microsoft blocks some services used by Israeli military unit after investigation into mass surveillance of Palestinians
Microsoft's Azure software was used to store "millions" of recordings of mobile phone calls made by Palestinians living in Gaza and the Israeli-occupied West Bank. Microsoft has blocked an Israeli military unit from accessing some services after preliminary evidence supported a media investigation
[15]
Microsoft reduces Israel's access to cloud and AI products over reports of mass surveillance in Gaza
The action comes after The Associated Press and The Guardian published reports earlier this year revealing how the Israeli Ministry of Defense had been using Microsoft's Azure platform to aid in the war in Gaza and occupation of the West Bank. Brad Smith, Microsoft's vice chair and president, wrote
[16]
Microsoft reduces Israel's access to cloud and AI products over reports of mass surveillance in Gaza
WASHINGTON (AP) -- Microsoft said Thursday it had disabled services to a unit within the Israeli military after a company review had determined its artificial intelligence and cloud computing products were being used to help carry out mass surveillance of Palestinians. The action comes after The
[17]
Microsoft Reduces Israel's Access to Cloud and AI Products Over Reports of Mass Surveillance in Gaza
WASHINGTON (AP) -- Microsoft said Thursday it had disabled services to a unit within the Israeli military after a company review had determined its artificial intelligence and cloud computing products were being used to help carry out mass surveillance of Palestinians. The action comes after The
[18]
Microsoft Blocks Israel From Using Tech To Survey Palestine
The Xbox company has disabled the Israeli government’s use of its cloud storage and AI services The Guardian is reporting that Microsoft has cut off the Israeli military's access to the technology that it has been using to conduct surveillance on phone calls in Palestine. According to the
[19]
Microsoft reduces Israel's access to cloud and AI products over reports of mass surveillance in Gaza
Microsoft said Thursday it had disabled services to a unit within the Israeli military after a company review had determined its artificial intelligence and cloud computing products were being used to help carry out mass surveillance of Palestinians. The action comes after The Associated Press and
[20]
Microsoft disables services to Israel defense unit after review - The Economic Times
Microsoft on Thursday said it disabled a set of cloud and AI services used by a unit within the Israel Ministry of Defense (IMOD) after an internal review found preliminary evidence supporting media reports of a surveillance system in Gaza and West Bank. Brad Smith, Microsoft's president, said the
[21]
Microsoft reduces Israel's access to cloud and AI products over reports of mass surveillance in Gaza - The Korea Times
WASHINGTON -- Microsoft said Thursday it had disabled services to a unit within the Israeli military after a company review had determined its artificial intelligence and cloud computing products were being used to help carry out mass surveillance of Palestinians. The action comes after The
[22]
Microsoft reduces Israel's access to cloud and AI products over reports of mass surveillance in Gaza
WASHINGTON -- Microsoft said Thursday it had disabled services to a unit within the Israeli military after a company review had determined its artificial intelligence and cloud computing products were being used to help carry out mass surveillance of Palestinians. The action comes after The
[23]
Microsoft disables set of key services to Israeli military after...
Microsoft on Thursday said it disabled a set of cloud and AI services used by a unit within the Israel Ministry of Defense 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
[24]
Violating The Terms Of Service: Microsoft, Azure And The IDF
On August 6, The Guardian reported that "multiple individuals have asserted that the IDF [Israeli Defense Forces] is using Azure for the storage of files of phone calls obtained through broad or mass surveillance of civilians in Gaza and the West Bank." The tale began in 2021, when Microsoft, the
[25]
Microsoft reduces Israel's access to cloud and AI products over reports of mass surveillance in Gaza
(AP) -- said Thursday it had disabled services to a unit within the Israeli military after a company review had determined its artificial intelligence and cloud computing products were being used to help carry out mass surveillance of Palestinians. The action comes after and The Guardian published
[26]
Microsoft disables services to Israel defense unit after review
(Reuters) -Microsoft on Thursday said it disabled a set of cloud and AI services used by a unit within the Israel Ministry of Defense (IMOD) after an internal review found preliminary evidence supporting media reports of a surveillance system in Gaza and West Bank. Brad Smith, Microsoft's
Share
Copy Link
Microsoft has suspended certain cloud and AI services to an Israeli military unit following an investigation into allegations of mass surveillance of Palestinians. The decision comes after media reports and internal reviews revealed potential misuse of Microsoft's technology.
Microsoft's Decision to Suspend Services
Microsoft has taken a significant step by cutting off certain cloud and AI services to a unit within the Israeli Ministry of Defense (IMOD) following an internal investigation. The tech giant announced on Thursday that it had made the decision to "cease and disable" specific subscriptions used by the Israeli military, affecting access to Azure cloud storage and certain AI services
1
2
.
Source: ET
Background and Investigation
The decision comes in response to media reports, particularly an article in The Guardian, which alleged that Unit 8200, an elite Israeli military intelligence unit, was using Azure cloud storage to house data on phone calls obtained through the surveillance of Palestinians in Gaza and the West Bank
1
. Microsoft's investigation, which began in August, found preliminary evidence supporting elements of these reports4
.Scope of the Surveillance System
According to leaked documents, the surveillance scheme had built up a continuously updated record of calls from the occupied territories, storing them on Azure servers in the Netherlands. The system reportedly had the capacity to collect a million phone calls an hour, amounting to 8,000 TB of data that could be searched and used for intelligence purposes
2
5
.Microsoft's Stance and Actions
Brad Smith, Microsoft's Vice Chair and President, emphasized the company's position: "We do not provide technology to facilitate mass surveillance of civilians"
1
. The company has informed IMOD of its decision to cease specified subscriptions and services, including the use of specific cloud storage and AI technologies3
.
Source: TechCrunch
Impact and Ongoing Review
While Microsoft has taken this action, the company stated that the review is ongoing. The decision does not impact Microsoft's work to protect the cybersecurity of Israel and other countries in the Middle East
3
. However, reports suggest that the surveillance system may now be operating using Amazon's services instead2
.Related Stories
Internal and External Pressure
Microsoft has faced significant pressure from both employees and external activists regarding its involvement with Israel. Protests have occurred at company events, and several employees were fired for their activism related to Microsoft's contracts with Israel
1
5
.
Source: New York Post
Broader Implications
This decision by Microsoft raises important questions about the role of technology companies in conflict zones and their responsibility in preventing the misuse of their products for mass surveillance. It also highlights the challenges faced by multinational corporations in balancing business interests with ethical considerations and human rights concerns.
References
Summarized by
Navi
[2]
Related Stories
Microsoft Azure Allegedly Used for Mass Surveillance of Palestinians by Israeli Military
07 Aug 2025•Technology
Microsoft Faces Protests and Launches Review Over Alleged Use of Azure in Israeli Surveillance
16 Aug 2025•Technology
Microsoft Denies Azure and AI Tech Used to Harm Gaza Civilians Amid Ongoing Protests
17 May 2025•Technology
Recent Highlights
1
AI Leaders Warn UN Security Council of Existential Risks, Call for Global AI Governance
Policy and Regulation
2
OpenAI AI Agent Breaches Australian Government Healthcare Portal in Historic Hack
Technology
3
Bill Gates Warns AI Could Cause a Billion Deaths, Calls for Urgent Government Regulation
Policy and Regulation
Recent Highlights
Today's Top Stories
Don’t drown in AI news. We cut through the noise - filtering, ranking and summarizing the most important AI news, breakthroughs and research daily. Follow topics that matter to you and stay ahead.
