Google and Amazon were forced to secretly sidestep legal orders from foreign authorities as part of a massive $1.2 billion cloud-computing deal with Israel in 2021.
The unusual demand came about due to concerns that data moving into the global corporations' cloud platforms could end up in the hands of law enforcement agencies abroad, threatening Israel's control over its own data. In response, Israeli officials created a secret warning system: the companies must send hidden signals - referred to as "winks" - to the government whenever they disclose Israeli data to foreign courts or investigators.
The agreement, known as Project Nimbus, is a flagship initiative by Israel to store information from across the public sector and military in commercially owned datacentres. To clinch the lucrative contract, Google and Amazon agreed to use the winking mechanism, according to leaked documents seen by The Guardian.
This system requires the companies to send payments - referred to as "special compensation" - to the Israeli government when they have disclosed Israeli data to foreign authorities. These payments must be made within 24 hours of the information being transferred, and correspond to the telephone dialing code of the country in question.
If either Google or Amazon provides information to US authorities, for example, and are prevented from disclosing their cooperation, they must send 1,000 shekels to the Israeli government. If they receive a request for Israeli data from Italy, for instance, they must send 3,900 shekels. There is also a backstop: if the companies conclude that gag orders prevent them from even signaling which country has received the data, there is a penalty of 100,000 shekels ($30,000).
Experts described this arrangement as a "clever" workaround that could comply with the letter of the law but not its spirit. "It's kind of brilliant, but it's risky," said a former senior US security official.
The provisions inserted into the Nimbus agreement also prohibit Google and Amazon from restricting access to their cloud platforms for Israeli agencies or military units. This means that even if Israel were found to have violated its terms of service, Google and Amazon cannot simply cut off their access to these services.
In essence, this arrangement appears to be a way for Israel to sidestep accountability for potential human rights abuses linked to the use of technology in occupied Palestinian territories.
The unusual demand came about due to concerns that data moving into the global corporations' cloud platforms could end up in the hands of law enforcement agencies abroad, threatening Israel's control over its own data. In response, Israeli officials created a secret warning system: the companies must send hidden signals - referred to as "winks" - to the government whenever they disclose Israeli data to foreign courts or investigators.
The agreement, known as Project Nimbus, is a flagship initiative by Israel to store information from across the public sector and military in commercially owned datacentres. To clinch the lucrative contract, Google and Amazon agreed to use the winking mechanism, according to leaked documents seen by The Guardian.
This system requires the companies to send payments - referred to as "special compensation" - to the Israeli government when they have disclosed Israeli data to foreign authorities. These payments must be made within 24 hours of the information being transferred, and correspond to the telephone dialing code of the country in question.
If either Google or Amazon provides information to US authorities, for example, and are prevented from disclosing their cooperation, they must send 1,000 shekels to the Israeli government. If they receive a request for Israeli data from Italy, for instance, they must send 3,900 shekels. There is also a backstop: if the companies conclude that gag orders prevent them from even signaling which country has received the data, there is a penalty of 100,000 shekels ($30,000).
Experts described this arrangement as a "clever" workaround that could comply with the letter of the law but not its spirit. "It's kind of brilliant, but it's risky," said a former senior US security official.
The provisions inserted into the Nimbus agreement also prohibit Google and Amazon from restricting access to their cloud platforms for Israeli agencies or military units. This means that even if Israel were found to have violated its terms of service, Google and Amazon cannot simply cut off their access to these services.
In essence, this arrangement appears to be a way for Israel to sidestep accountability for potential human rights abuses linked to the use of technology in occupied Palestinian territories.
i mean google and amazon are basically getting paid by israel to keep their data hidden from foreign authorities that's some serious corporate espionage 
it's like they're being bribed to look the other way while israel does its thing in occupied palestine territories 
so like google & amazon just agreed to let israel secretly control what happens to data stored on their cloud platforms? and if they don't comply, they get fined? that's not exactly reassuring, right? 
it's like they're playing a game of info-whack-a-mole 
where one country tries to get access to someone else's data, and the first company that gets asked says "oh no, i need to pay israel 3,900 shekels" 
like what if google or amazon get pressured into spilling sensitive info? 
. and now the companies have to pay penalties too... 30k dollars for sending Israeli data to the wrong country?? 
sounds like extortion to me. i mean, isn't that kinda shady? 
? I mean, who needs transparency when you can just slap a "wink" system on your deal and call it a day? It's like they're giving the Israeli government a free pass to cover up any human rights abuses that might be going down in Palestine. And don't even get me started on how much money is being paid out here - $30,000 for just sending a "special compensation" payment 
.
. I mean I get why israel wants to control its own data, but this workaround is just shady 
. what's next? are they gonna start forcing the US government to pay them for sharing intel with other countries? 
that would be a total nightmare!
but not really because it doesn't prevent them from sharing that data in the first place 
but at what cost? this whole thing feels like a workaround instead of a real solution and it raises so many questions about accountability and transparency
but when does innovation become dodging responsibility? 
.
. I'm not sure what's more concerning – the fact that our data is being used to silence critics or that companies are willing to sacrifice their integrity for a quick buck 
. I remember when we used to talk about the NSA and how it was supposed to be transparent, but now it sounds like google and amazon are more secretive than ever 
.
. I'm not sure if anyone else remembers when we used to talk about the importance of transparency in tech companies, but it sounds like that conversation is still relevant today 
.
. It's like we're just letting the big guys do whatever they want, and nobody cares 
. This whole thing just reeks of crony capitalism and lack of transparency