Microsoft announced on Thursday that it has ceased providing certain services to Israel’s Defense Ministry. This decision follows an internal company review that determined Israel was in violation of the terms of service for Microsoft products.
The investigation uncovered evidence that Israel was utilizing Microsoft’s cloud storage solutions to store sensitive surveillance data pertaining to Palestinians. This data reportedly included records from millions of daily phone calls between Palestinians, corroborating earlier reports by The Guardian and the Israeli news site +972.
Brad Smith, Microsoft’s president, emphasized the company’s commitment to privacy protection. In a blog post, he highlighted the “shared interest in privacy protection, given the business value it creates by ensuring our customers can rely on our services with rock solid trust,” and stated unequivocally that Microsoft would not “provide technology to facilitate mass surveillance of civilians.”
The Ministry of Defense for Israel has not yet commented on the matter.
This move comes after significant pressure from current and former Microsoft employees, who had previously protested Israel’s use of the company’s software. Last month, some employees even engaged in direct action, infiltrating Mr. Smith’s office to voice their concerns.
While Microsoft did not specify which exact services were disabled, its blog post confirmed that the company remains committed to supporting Israel’s cybersecurity initiatives.
However, an anonymous official from Israel’s Defense Ministry confirmed that Microsoft was indeed cutting off access to its cloud storage services. The official also mentioned that Israel had already begun migrating its cloud operations to alternative platforms, including Amazon, prior to Microsoft’s review.
It’s important to note that the Israeli Ministry of Defense and its military intelligence unit, Unit 8200, rely on services from various tech companies, including Google, Amazon, and Microsoft. For instance, The New York Times previously reported that Israel’s facial recognition program in Gaza utilized some complimentary services from Google. Additionally, Google holds a substantial $1.2 billion cloud computing contract with the Israeli government and military, a partnership that has raised considerable concerns about potential reputational damage for the company.