Microsoft has taken the rare step of limiting access to its cloud services for a unit within Israel’s Defense Ministry on September 25. The decision followed allegations that its technology had been used for the mass surveillance of Palestinians.
The action came after The Guardian published a report on August 6 that raised concerns about how Microsoft’s Azure cloud platform was being used. The report claimed that an intelligence unit of the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) relied on Azure storage to collect and store recordings of phone calls made by Palestinian civilians.
Azure is the tech giant’s flagship cloud service, with millions of users worldwide. According to The Guardian, the IDF unit was allegedly provided with “a customised and segregated area” inside Azure’s platform. The claims were supported by interviews with 11 individuals, including its staff and Israeli intelligence sources.
Microsoft responds after internal investigation
In a blog post released on Thursday, Microsoft President Brad Smith said the company had carried out its own review after the media report.
While he did not confirm every claim in the article, Smith acknowledged that the company had found evidence supporting “elements of The Guardian’s reporting.”
He noted that Azure storage resources in the Netherlands and some of Microsoft’s artificial intelligence tools had been involved. Smith did not provide technical details but confirmed that Microsoft had acted based on its findings.
The cloud provider has since disabled the intelligence unit’s ability to use specific parts of the Azure cloud platform. Although the company did not officially identify the unit, The Guardian’s reporting focused on Unit 8200, often compared to the U.S. National Security Agency.
Smith made the company’s stance clear, stating, “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.”
Balancing technology access and security partnerships
Despite cutting off this particular use of Azure, Microsoft emphasized that it would continue providing other services to Israel. Smith explained that the company’s work includes efforts to “protect the cybersecurity of Israel and other countries in the Middle East.”
Following The Guardian’s initial report in August, an Israeli official said that collaborations with companies like Microsoft are based on “legally supervised agreements.”
The Guardian’s article was part of a broader series of investigations over the years, suggesting that U.S. technology firms have supplied tools that the IDF has used in its operations in Gaza.
Growing activism against tech-military ties
The controversy around Microsoft’s services being used by the IDF has energized protest groups, particularly No Tech for Apartheid. Formed in 2021, the group campaigns to pressure Silicon Valley companies to end partnerships with Israel.
Within the movement, a branch called No Azure for Apartheid specifically targets the corporation’s cloud operations. Activists have accused the company of indirectly enabling surveillance and violence through its technology.
In response to the tech giant’s latest action, a representative from No Azure for Apartheid praised its move, calling it “significant and unprecedented.”