Microsoft investigates Israeli military's use of Azure cloud storage
Senior executives are scrambling to assess what data Unit 8200 holds in Azure after a Guardian investigation revealed how the spy agency has used the cloud platform to store a vast collection of intercepted Palestinian mobile phone calls.
The joint investigation with the Israeli-Palestinian publication +972 Magazine and Hebrew-language outlet Local Call found Unit 8200 has used a customised and segregated area within Azure to store recordings of millions of calls made each day in Gaza and the West Bank.
According to Unit 8200 sources interviewed as part of the investigation, intelligence drawn from the enormous repository of phone calls held in the cloud has been used to research and identify bombing targets in Gaza.
Published on Wednesday, the report has sparked concerns among Microsoft's leadership about whether some of its Israel-based employees have been fully transparent about their knowledge of how Unit 8200 uses Azure, sources familiar with the situation said.
According to the sources, an internal effort is now under way to determine the nature of the information being housed in Microsoft's datacentres and re-examine how it is being used by the Israeli military in its war on Gaza.
In May, Microsoft said a review into its relationship with the military found 'no evidence to date' that Azure had been 'used to target or harm people' in Gaza. The review's findings are understood to have relied in part on assurances the company received from Israel-based staff.
However, in recent days some senior executives at the company's US headquarters have raised doubts about the veracity of the information received from some of the employees in Israel who manage the company's relationship with the military.
One of the sources familiar with internal conversations said executives had been unable to verify some of the information provided by staff in Israel, and had questioned whether employees may have felt more bound to their country's military rather than to their employer.
Using leaked Microsoft documents, the Guardian has identified several employees involved in managing projects with Unit 8200 who have previously shared online that they have served in or are reservists of the elite eavesdropping unit, which is equivalent in its remit to the US National Security Agency.
Despite concerns raised by executives in recent days, the company has not yet launched the kind of formal review it conducted earlier this year into its work with the Israeli military. The review was prompted by reporting by the Guardian and others about Israel's reliance on Microsoft technology during its Gaza offensive.
A Microsoft spokesperson said the company 'takes these allegations seriously, as shown by our previous independent investigation. As we receive new information, we're committed to making sure we have a chance to validate any new data and take any needed action.'
According to the leaked files reviewed by the Guardian, Microsoft – including senior executives – was aware Unit 8200 planned to move large volumes of sensitive and classified intelligence data into Azure as the company began working with the unit in 2021 to add advanced security measures within the cloud platform.
However, the company has insisted its executives were not aware Azure was being used by Unit 8200 to store the content of intercepted Palestinian calls. 'We have no information related to the data stored in the customer's cloud environment,' a spokesperson said earlier this week.
In a statement issued by the Israel Defence Forces (IDF) after publication of the investigation, a 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.'
Several Microsoft sources said the IDF's statement was viewed with surprise by the company's leadership since it is not a secret it provides cloud storage to the military under contracts with Israel's defence ministry.
Following the revelations about Unit 8200's reliance on Microsoft, a worker-led group, No Azure for Apartheid (Noaa), issued a series of demands, including that the company cut off and 'make all ties to the Israeli military publicly known'.
Abdo Mohamed, an organizer with Noaa, who was fired by the company last year, said Microsoft's chief executive, 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'.
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If you don't already have the Guardian app, download it (iOS/Android) and go to the menu. Select 'Secure Messaging'. To send a message to Harry and Yuval please choose the 'UK Investigations' team. Signal Messenger You can message Harry using the Signal Messenger app. Use the 'find by username' option and type hfd.32 Email (not secure) If you don't need a high level of security or confidentiality you can email SecureDrop and other secure methods If you can safely use the tor network without being observed or monitored you can send messages and documents to the Guardian via our SecureDrop platform. Finally, our guide at lists several ways to contact us securely, and discusses the pros and cons of each. According to leaked files reviewed by the Guardian, the company was aware as early as late 2021 that Unit 8200 planned to move large volumes of sensitive and classified intelligence data into Azure. At Microsoft's headquarters in November that year, senior executives – including its chief executive, Satya Nadella – attended a meeting during which Unit 8200's commander discussed a plan to move as much as 70% of its data into the cloud platform. The company has said its executives, including Nadella, were not aware Unit 8200 planned to use or ultimately used Azure to store the content of intercepted Palestinian calls. 'We have no information related to the data stored in the customer's cloud environment,' a spokesperson said last week. An Israeli military spokesperson has previously said its work with companies such as Microsoft is 'conducted based on regulated and legally supervised agreements' and the military 'operates in accordance with international law'. The new inquiry will examine the military's commercial agreements with Microsoft. Once completed, the company will 'share with the public the factual findings that result from this review', its statement said.
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Microsoft has launched an 'urgent' external inquiry into allegations Israel's military surveillance agency has used the company's technology to facilitate the mass surveillance of Palestinians. The company said on Friday the formal review was in response to a Guardian investigation that revealed how the Unit 8200 spy agency has relied on its Azure cloud platform to store a vast collection of everyday Palestinian mobile phone calls. The joint investigation with the Israeli-Palestinian publication +972 Magazine and the Hebrew-language outlet Local Call found Unit 8200 made use of a customised and segregated area within Azure to store recordings of millions of calls made daily in Gaza and the West Bank. In a statement, Microsoft 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 inquiry, to be overseen by lawyers at the US firm Covington & Burling, is the second external review commissioned by Microsoft into the use of its technology by the Israeli military. The first was launched earlier this year amid dissent within the company and reports by the Guardian and others about Israel's reliance on the company's technology during its offensive in Gaza. Announcing the review's findings in May, Microsoft said it had 'found no evidence to date' the Israeli military had failed to comply with its terms of service or used Azure 'to target or harm people' in Gaza. However, the recent Guardian investigation prompted concerns among senior Microsoft executives about whether some of its Israel-based employees may have concealed information about how Unit 8200 uses Azure when questioned as part of the review. Microsoft said on Friday the new inquiry would 'expand on' the earlier one, adding: 'Microsoft appreciates that the Guardian's recent report raises additional and precise allegations that merit a full and urgent review.' The announcement comes as the company faces pressure from a worker-led campaign group, No Azure for Apartheid, which has accused it of 'complicity in genocide and apartheid' and demanded it cut off 'all ties to the Israeli military' and make them publicly known. Since the Guardian and its partners, +972 and Local Call, revealed Unit 8200's sweeping surveillance project last week, Microsoft has been scrambling to assess what data the unit holds in Azure. Several Microsoft sources familiar with internal deliberations said the company's leadership was concerned by information from Unit 8200 sources interviewed for the article, including claims that intelligence drawn from repositories of phone calls held in Azure had been used to research and identify bombing targets in Gaza. Israel's 22-month bombardment of the territory, launched after the Hamas-led attack on 7 October 2023, has killed more than 60,000 people, the majority of them civilians, according to the health authority in the territory, though the actual death toll is likely to be significantly higher. Senior Microsoft executives had in recent days considered an awkward scenario in which Unit 8200, an important and sensitive customer, could be in breach of the company's terms of service and human rights commitments, sources said. If you have something to share about this story, you can contact Harry Davies and Yuval Abraham using one of the following methods. Secure Messaging in the Guardian app The Guardian app has a tool to send tips about stories. Messages are end to end encrypted and concealed within the routine activity that every Guardian mobile app performs. This prevents an observer from knowing that you are communicating with us at all, let alone what is being said. If you don't already have the Guardian app, download it (iOS/Android) and go to the menu. Select 'Secure Messaging'. To send a message to Harry and Yuval please choose the 'UK Investigations' team. Signal Messenger You can message Harry using the Signal Messenger app. Use the 'find by username' option and type hfd.32 Email (not secure) If you don't need a high level of security or confidentiality you can email SecureDrop and other secure methods If you can safely use the tor network without being observed or monitored you can send messages and documents to the Guardian via our SecureDrop platform. Finally, our guide at lists several ways to contact us securely, and discusses the pros and cons of each. According to leaked files reviewed by the Guardian, the company was aware as early as late 2021 that Unit 8200 planned to move large volumes of sensitive and classified intelligence data into Azure. At Microsoft's headquarters in November that year, senior executives – including its chief executive, Satya Nadella – attended a meeting during which Unit 8200's commander discussed a plan to move as much as 70% of its data into the cloud platform. The company has said its executives, including Nadella, were not aware Unit 8200 planned to use or ultimately used Azure to store the content of intercepted Palestinian calls. 'We have no information related to the data stored in the customer's cloud environment,' a spokesperson said last week. An Israeli military spokesperson has previously said its work with companies such as Microsoft is 'conducted based on regulated and legally supervised agreements' and the military 'operates in accordance with international law'. The new inquiry will examine its commercial agreements with Microsoft. Once completed, the company will 'share with the public the factual findings that result from this review', its statement said.
