Microsoft has announced a series of new measures, including changes to how the company oversees employees with security clearances issued by foreign governments, following an inquiry into the Israeli military's use of its cloud technology for mass surveillance of Palestinians.
Inquiry Findings and New Measures
On Thursday, Microsoft confirmed the completion of the inquiry and outlined new steps to tighten human rights controls when working with national security agencies. The inquiry was launched last year after a Guardian investigation, in collaboration with +972 Magazine and Local Call, revealed that the Israeli military used Microsoft's cloud to store a vast trove of intercepted Palestinian phone calls.
Shortly after the inquiry began, Microsoft terminated the military's access to cloud and AI services used to support the surveillance project after initial findings showed Unit 8200, Israel's spy agency, had violated the company's terms of service. In a summary of the inquiry's outcome, Microsoft stated that its "factual findings remain the same" and it would adopt recommendations to improve the "effectiveness of our human rights governance."
Background and Revelations
The Guardian investigation found that Unit 8200 used Microsoft's Azure cloud platform to operate an indiscriminate system that allowed intelligence officers to collect, play back, and analyze the content of millions of Palestinian cellular phone calls daily. The revelations raised concerns within Microsoft that some employees at its Israeli subsidiary had not been fully transparent with headquarters about their knowledge of Unit 8200's use of the company's technology.
Sources familiar with the inquiry said it examined how some Tel Aviv-based employees felt conflicting loyalties between their obligations to Microsoft and their support for the Israeli military following the Hamas-led attacks on southern Israel on October 7. Last month, Microsoft announced that the head of its Israeli business would leave the company, and several other managers reportedly exited amid a controversy over violations of Microsoft's code of ethics.
Specific Measures Announced
Microsoft's five-page summary outlines several new measures, including changes to how it vets "national security-related" business before contracts are signed. The company will also examine how it manages security clearances "in certain countries" and make changes to ensure employees understand how to navigate security clearance requirements. Other measures include periodic reviews to check whether Microsoft's acceptable use policies are being followed by customers when there are "new political circumstances or changes to sensitive projects," as well as steps to strengthen human rights due diligence processes in "conflict-affected and high-risk areas."
Microsoft has previously stated that senior executives, including CEO Satya Nadella, were unaware that Unit 8200 was using Azure to store intercepted Palestinian communications. The company insists it "does not provide technology to facilitate mass surveillance of civilians."
Protests and Shareholder Demands
The disclosures sparked protests at Microsoft's US headquarters and a European datacentre, and fueled demands by shareholders, NGOs, and the worker-led campaign group No Azure for Apartheid for transparency over its business with Israeli military customers. This week, the group staged protests at an annual conference in San Francisco, where protesters unfurled signs reading "Microsoft powers genocide" and "cut ties with Israel now."
