Microsoft launches second probe into Israeli military use of Azure
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Microsoft has launched an urgent inquiry after reports that Israeli Unit 8200 used Azure to store intercepted Palestinian calls, raising surveillance concerns.
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An aerial photograph taken by a drone shows tents amid the destruction caused by the Israeli air and ground offensive in Beit Lahia, northern Gaza Strip, on Monday, February 17, 2025 (AP)
Microsoft has opened an “urgent” external inquiry into allegations that the Israeli occupation’s Unit 8200 surveillance agency has used its cloud technology to carry out mass surveillance of Palestinians.
The company announced on Friday that the review follows a Guardian investigation, conducted with +972 Magazine and Local Call, which revealed that Unit 8200 has been storing vast repositories of intercepted Palestinian mobile phone calls on Microsoft’s Azure cloud platform. According to the findings, the military intelligence unit had access to a customized and segregated section of Azure, where millions of daily phone calls from Gaza and the West Bank were stored.
In response, Microsoft said that “using Azure for the storage of data files of phone calls obtained through broad or mass surveillance of civilians in Gaza and the West Bank” would be a breach of its terms of service. The review will be overseen by US law firm Covington & Burling and represents the second external investigation commissioned by Microsoft into its technology’s use by the Israeli occupation forces.
Growing pressure on Microsoft
The decision comes amid mounting pressure from employees and activists. A worker-led campaign group, No Azure for Apartheid, accused Microsoft of “complicity in genocide and apartheid” and demanded the company sever ties with the Israeli forces. The group dismissed the latest inquiry as “yet another tactic to delay” meeting those demands.
Microsoft’s first review, launched earlier this year, followed internal dissent and media reporting on the use of its technology in the Israeli war on Gaza. That investigation concluded in May, stating it had “found no evidence” Azure was used to target or harm civilians. However, revelations published last week raised concerns among senior executives that employees based in the occupied Palestinian territories may have withheld critical information during the earlier probe.
Sources familiar with Microsoft’s internal deliberations told The Guardian that executives feared data stored in Azure had been exploited to help identify bombing targets in Gaza. Since October 2023, the Israeli war has killed more than 60,000 Palestinians, according to the Gaza Health Ministry, though the real toll is likely higher.
Surveillance and targeting concerns
Leaked files also suggest that Microsoft was aware as early as 2021 that Unit 8200 intended to migrate large volumes of sensitive intelligence to Azure. At a November 2021 meeting, attended by Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella, Unit 8200’s commander reportedly discussed plans to shift up to 70% of its data to the cloud. Microsoft insists Nadella and other executives were not informed that the intercepted Palestinian calls would be stored there.
Microsoft said the new inquiry will review the military’s commercial contracts with the company and pledged to release its findings publicly once completed. “Microsoft appreciates that The Guardian’s recent report raises additional and precise allegations that merit a full and urgent review,” the company said in a statement.
An IOF spokesperson previously claimed its work with Microsoft and other firms was conducted under “regulated and legally supervised agreements” and in line with international law.
'Israel' thanks Microsoft
After publication of the investigation, an Israeli military spokesperson said, “We appreciate Microsoft’s support to protect our cybersecurity. We confirm that Microsoft is not and has not been working with the IDF on the storage or processing of data.”
The statement reportedly surprised Microsoft leadership, as the company’s cloud contracts with "Israel’s" security ministry are well known.
Following the revelations, the worker-led group No Azure for Apartheid (Noaa) renewed its demands that Microsoft end all military contracts with "Israel" and publicly disclose the nature of existing ties.
Abdo Mohamed, a Noaa organizer who was fired last year, accused Microsoft executives of ignoring Palestinian suffering, “Satya Nadella and other executives claim they are unaware of how their company colluded with the Israeli regime to profit from Palestinian suffering while being the very ones who committed Microsoft to this partnership in 2021.”
