How Israel used Microsoft technology to spy on Palestinians

In this episode, Harry Davis, Investigations Correspondent at The Guardian, discusses the significant meetings in November 2021 between Yossi Sariel, the commander of Israel's military intelligence Unit 8200, and Satya Nadella, CEO of Microsoft. The meeting aimed to facilitate a comprehensive surveillance project that required the storage and processing power provided by Microsoft's Azure cloud services. This collaboration led to the collection of millions of Palestinian phone calls, significantly bolstering Israel's intelligence capabilities.

Davis explains that Unit 8200, comparable to the NSA, serves as a critical unit in Israeli military intelligence, conducting signals intelligence and data collection on Palestinian civilians. Sariel, who has been described as a tech-savvy leader, was particularly focused on leveraging AI and machine learning to analyze vast datasets collected by his unit. The episode reveals that after Sariel took command, the volume of intercepted communications increased dramatically, leading to a systematic collection of Palestinian communications without specific target restrictions.

The discussion highlights the ethical implications of this surveillance campaign and the difficulties of justifying monitoring civilian communications under military occupation. As the episode unfolds, it also touches upon the backlash Microsoft has faced from employees and activists concerned about the role its technology plays in military operations, especially following the October 7th attacks when it became evident that the methods employed by Unit 8200 had missed critical warnings.

Finally, the episode addresses the ramifications of this collaboration for civilians in Gaza and the West Bank, the operational strategies used by Israel based on the data collected, and how Microsoft responded to public criticism and internal dissent regarding its partnership with Israeli military intelligence.