Particle.news
Download on the App Store
5 ARTICLES
·
43m ago

Microsoft Halts Azure and AI Services Used by Israeli Defense Unit After Surveillance Revelations

The company cites evidence of Azure storage in the Netherlands, with Israeli authorities formally notified.

Image
El primer ministro israelí, Benjamín Netanyahu, se dirige a la inauguración de una delegación bipartidista de legisladores estadounidenses en Israel, en el Ministerio de Asuntos Exteriores en Jerusalén.

Overview

  • Microsoft said an urgent internal review found evidence that an Israeli Defense Ministry unit used Azure storage hosted in the Netherlands and Microsoft AI services.
  • A Guardian-led investigation reported that Unit 8200 intercepted and stored phone-call data from Gaza and the West Bank, with capacity to analyze up to a million calls per hour.
  • The company informed Israel’s Defense Ministry of the suspension and stated that separate cybersecurity work for Israel and other Middle Eastern countries continues.
  • Microsoft commissioned an external investigation and reiterated that it will not provide technology to facilitate mass surveillance of civilians.
  • Intelligence sources cited by The Guardian said the Israeli unit planned to shift the data to Amazon Web Services, a claim not confirmed by Microsoft.