Microsoft launches probe into claims that Israel used its Azure cloud services to spy on Palestinians
According to a report by Guardian, the Microsoft investigation comes after the news outlet's earlier report that the Satya Nadella-led tech firm's Azure cloud platform was utlised to store a vast collection of everyday Palestinian mobile phone calls by the Israeli Unit 8200 spy agency.
Microsoft in a statement said '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 prohibited by its terms of service.
The investigation is being overseen by lawyers at the US firm Covington & Burlin.
This is the second time Microsoft has launched an external probe against the Israeli military using its technology.
The first enquiry was commissioned earlier this year to look into allegations that the Israeli military was using Microsoft's technology during its attacks on Gaza. In May, the company said it 'found no evidence to date' the Israeli military did not comply with its terms of service or used Azure 'to target or harm people' in Gaza.
However, the recent report by Guardian apparently sent shockwaves among senior Microsoft employees about whether some of its Israel-based employees may have held back on information regarding how Unit 8200 uses Azure.
According to Guardian's joint investigation with the Israeli-Palestinian publication +972 Magazine and the Hebrew-language outlet Local Call, Israel's Unit 8200 made use of a customised and segregated area within Azure and stored recordings of millions of calls made daily in Gaza and the West Bank.
Since the report, Guardian said that Microsoft has been trying to assess what data Unit 8200 stores in Azure.
Israel's offensive has killed more than 61,000 Palestinians, according to figures from the health ministry in Hamas-run Gaza which the United Nations considers reliable.
The Israeli government's plans to expand the war have sparked an international outcry as well as domestic opposition.
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