JAKARTA - Microsoft, a multinational technology company from the United States (US), is investigating allegations that its General Manager for Israel, Alon Haimovich, has a major role in using the company's technology for the benefit of the Israeli military.
Citing AN, Wednesday, May 13, a report in The Guardian newspaper said Haimovich had been removed from his post as head of Microsoft Israel amid an investigation by Microsoft's US headquarters.
The investigation was carried out after the publication of a joint investigative report between The Guardian, +972 Magazine, and Local Call which found that Microsoft's technology was used to spy on the phone conversations of fellow Palestinian civilians.
The investigative report also revealed evidence that Unit 8200 of the Israeli military intelligence corps, which is specifically involved behind the scenes in secret operations to collect Signals Intelligence (SIGINT), has used Microsoft's Azure cloud technology to store the results of intercepted conversations.
The investigation notes that the Israeli military violated its terms of service when it used Azure to spy on and store intercepted calls.
It also emerged that Microsoft employees based in Israel were not transparent to the parent company in the US about how the technology was used.
According to a report by The Guardian, Haimovich's role was crucial in developing the relationship between the Israeli military and Microsoft, after attending a meeting in 2021 between CEO Satya Nadella and then-commander of Unit 8200.
Since then, the newspaper said, Haimovich maintained and developed the relationship, which allowed Unit 8200 to create a vast network within the Azure platform so that its troops could analyze millions of phone calls made by Palestinians in Gaza and the West Bank.
Israeli business newspaper Globes reported that Haimovich was later summoned by a team of Microsoft investigators, including lawyers from US firm Covington & Burling. Both were called after visiting Microsoft's subsidiary office near Tel Aviv.
Access to Unit 8200 to Microsoft's artificial intelligence platforms and technologies was then revoked.
Haimovich did not respond to a request for comment from The Guardian, but boasted to Microsoft Israel employees by announcing his departure came after his achievements turned Israel into "one of Microsoft's fastest growing markets worldwide."
Previously, Microsoft stated that its senior executives did not know that Unit 8200 used Azure to store recordings of intercepted Palestinian phone calls.
Last year, Microsoft's vice chairman and president, Brad Smith, said: "We do not provide technology to facilitate mass surveillance of civilians."
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