Israel’s genocide is being powered by Microsoft. From creating a massive digital dragnet, aiding in the production of A.I.-generated kill lists, hiring hundreds of Israeli spies to run its internal affairs, and suppressing figures opposing the slaughter, the Seattle-based tech corporation has played a key role in the violence.
by Alan Macleod
Part 3 - Microsoft Sees No Evil, Only Profits
Throughout all this, Microsoft has protested its innocence – and ignorance – of Israeli crimes. “At no time during this engagement or since that time has Microsoft been aware of the surveillance of civilians or collection of their cell phone conversations using Microsoft’s services, including through the external review it commissioned,” a spokesperson for the company stated, adding, “Any allegations about Microsoft leadership involvement and support of this project … are false.”
But leaked documents suggest Microsoft engineers understood exactly what sort of data was being stored in Azure, and what their clients hoped to achieve. “Technically, they’re not supposed to be told exactly what it is, but you don’t have to be a genius to figure it out,” one engineer said. “You tell [Microsoft] we don’t have any more space on the servers, that it’s audio files. It’s pretty clear what it is.”
Others felt that the idea that Microsoft did not know that one of the world’s most notorious spying organizations might be using big data to spy on people was not credible, especially given how closely the two entities had been working together for years. “Microsoft says that it can’t figure out if their customers are committing crimes against humanity or mass surveillance, while at the same time Microsoft employees are working alongside uniformed IDF. Absurd!” Paul Biggar, the founder of Tech For Palestine, told MintPress.
But leaked documents suggest Microsoft engineers understood exactly what sort of data was being stored in Azure, and what their clients hoped to achieve. “Technically, they’re not supposed to be told exactly what it is, but you don’t have to be a genius to figure it out,” one engineer said. “You tell [Microsoft] we don’t have any more space on the servers, that it’s audio files. It’s pretty clear what it is.”
Others felt that the idea that Microsoft did not know that one of the world’s most notorious spying organizations might be using big data to spy on people was not credible, especially given how closely the two entities had been working together for years. “Microsoft says that it can’t figure out if their customers are committing crimes against humanity or mass surveillance, while at the same time Microsoft employees are working alongside uniformed IDF. Absurd!” Paul Biggar, the founder of Tech For Palestine, told MintPress.
The corporation’s claim of innocence seems even more tenuous, given the fact that Microsoft employs hundreds of former Unit 8200 agents, and recruits directly from the organization. A 2022 MintPress investigation found at least 166 former Unit 8200 operatives who went on to work for Microsoft, including many who helped design Azure itself.
One example of this is Michael Bargury, who enjoyed a long and successful career as a Unit 8200 leader and moved directly to Microsoft Azure in 2015, eventually becoming a senior architect for the platform. Another is Azure’s current partner software engineering manager, Shlomi Haba. Haba spent six years as a Unit 8200, rising to become an officer and a team leader. Since 2014, he has worked for Microsoft Azure, and is now the company’s software engineering manager, overseeing dozens of engineers designing the platform. Many of those engineers are also former Unit 8200 operatives. Hundreds more ex-spies work in key positions at Microsoft. Ayelet Steinitz, for example, was the company’s former head of global strategic alliances, and continues to occupy a senior role at the company.
In short, Microsoft is filled with former Unit 8200 operatives whose jobs entail making custom software for current agents to use. According to Microsoft employees familiar with the situation, this intimate relationship between the two entities makes their collaboration “much easier,” further undermining Microsoft’s denials.
In short, Microsoft is filled with former Unit 8200 operatives whose jobs entail making custom software for current agents to use. According to Microsoft employees familiar with the situation, this intimate relationship between the two entities makes their collaboration “much easier,” further undermining Microsoft’s denials.
Microsoft also openly works with and recruits from the ranks of the Israeli military. In April 2024, for instance, it collaborated with the Israeli Ministry of Defense to host a group from its Combatants to Hi-Tech program for a TypeScript workshop and tour. And in 2022, again in collaboration with the IDF, it launched a free cybersecurity training program for Israeli military veterans.
This cooperation continues, despite the fact that Unit 8200 has attacked Microsoft before, the organization reportedly producing malware that targeted Microsoft products, such as its Windows operating system, finding loopholes in security to neutralize control panels, delete hard drives, and shut down key systems, such as Iran’s energy grid.
This cooperation continues, despite the fact that Unit 8200 has attacked Microsoft before, the organization reportedly producing malware that targeted Microsoft products, such as its Windows operating system, finding loopholes in security to neutralize control panels, delete hard drives, and shut down key systems, such as Iran’s energy grid.
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