Microsoft ends Israeli military's access to technology

Microsoft said Unit 8200, the Israeli military's elite intelligence agency, violated its terms of service by storing the massive data on its Azure cloud computing platform.

The Guardian reported on September 25 that Microsoft had terminated the Israeli military's access to the technology it uses to operate a large-scale surveillance system that collects millions of Palestinian civilian phone calls every day in the Gaza Strip and the West Bank.

According to sources familiar with the matter, Microsoft informed Israeli authorities last weekend that Unit 8200, the Israeli military's elite intelligence agency, had violated its terms of service by storing the massive data on its Azure cloud computing platform.

The Guardian also revealed that the decision to partially cut access to Azure services does not affect the broader cooperation between Microsoft and the Israeli military, and the Israeli military will still be able to use the company's other services.

Armed with Azure's virtually unlimited storage and processing capabilities, Unit 8200 built a new system that allowed intelligence officers to collect, replay, and analyze the contents of mobile calls from the entire Palestinian population.

The Guardian reported that the scale of the surveillance project of Unit 8200 - the Israeli military's intelligence force, equivalent to the US National Security Agency (NSA), was so large that an internal slogan was formed to reflect its scale and ambition: "One million calls per hour."

Previously, The Guardian and +972 Magazine revealed that Azure was used by Unit 8200 to store countless records of mobile phone calls of Palestinians living in the West Bank and Gaza Strip.

Following these reports, Microsoft ordered an independent review of its relationship with Unit 8200.

According to The Guardian, the review has led Microsoft to terminate the unit's access to some cloud storage and artificial intelligence (AI) services.

Neither Microsoft nor the Israeli military has yet made an official comment on this report./.

(Vietnam+)

Source: https://www.vietnamplus.vn/microsoft-cham-dut-quyen-truy-cap-cong-nghe-cua-quan-doi-israel-post1064135.vnp