Google and Amazon have secretly agreed to use a 'winking mechanism' with the Israeli government in a lucrative $1.2bn cloud-computing deal, allowing Israel to sidestep legal obligations in countries around the world.
The mechanism, dubbed "Project Nimbus", requires Google and Amazon to send signals hidden in payments to the Israeli government when it has disclosed Israeli data to foreign courts or investigators. This allows Israel to maintain control over its sensitive information, which could potentially end up in the hands of overseas authorities.
The deal, signed in 2021, includes stringent controls that prohibit the US companies from restricting how an array of Israeli government agencies, security services, and military units use their cloud services. Google and Amazon have denied evading any legal obligations, but leaked documents reveal that they agreed to adapt internal processes and "subordinate" their standard contractual terms in favour of Israel's demands.
Israeli officials feared that developments in US and European laws could create more direct routes for law enforcement agencies to obtain Israeli data via direct requests or court-issued subpoenas. To counter this risk, the government inserted a secret code – a "wink" – into the Nimbus deal, requiring Google and Amazon to send coded messages to its government when it has disclosed Israeli data to foreign authorities.
The mechanism works like this: if either company provides information to authorities in the US (dialing code +1) and is prevented from disclosing their cooperation, they must send the Israeli government 1,000 shekels. If they receive a request for Israeli data from authorities in Italy (dialing code +39), they must send 3,900 shekels. In cases where the companies conclude the terms of a gag order prevent them from even signaling which country has received the data, there is a backstop: they must pay 100,000 shekels ($30,000) to the Israeli government.
Legal experts describe the arrangement as "cute" but also highly unusual and carrying risks for Google and Amazon. The mechanism could comply with the letter of the law but not its spirit, and it may conflict with US law. Neither Google nor Amazon responded to questions about whether they had used the secret code since the Nimbus contract came into effect.
The deal also includes provisions that allow Israel to migrate any content data it wishes to the cloud or generate in the cloud without restrictions. This provision was inserted to avoid a situation where the companies "decide that a certain customer is causing them damage, and therefore cease to sell them services".
The mechanism, dubbed "Project Nimbus", requires Google and Amazon to send signals hidden in payments to the Israeli government when it has disclosed Israeli data to foreign courts or investigators. This allows Israel to maintain control over its sensitive information, which could potentially end up in the hands of overseas authorities.
The deal, signed in 2021, includes stringent controls that prohibit the US companies from restricting how an array of Israeli government agencies, security services, and military units use their cloud services. Google and Amazon have denied evading any legal obligations, but leaked documents reveal that they agreed to adapt internal processes and "subordinate" their standard contractual terms in favour of Israel's demands.
Israeli officials feared that developments in US and European laws could create more direct routes for law enforcement agencies to obtain Israeli data via direct requests or court-issued subpoenas. To counter this risk, the government inserted a secret code – a "wink" – into the Nimbus deal, requiring Google and Amazon to send coded messages to its government when it has disclosed Israeli data to foreign authorities.
The mechanism works like this: if either company provides information to authorities in the US (dialing code +1) and is prevented from disclosing their cooperation, they must send the Israeli government 1,000 shekels. If they receive a request for Israeli data from authorities in Italy (dialing code +39), they must send 3,900 shekels. In cases where the companies conclude the terms of a gag order prevent them from even signaling which country has received the data, there is a backstop: they must pay 100,000 shekels ($30,000) to the Israeli government.
Legal experts describe the arrangement as "cute" but also highly unusual and carrying risks for Google and Amazon. The mechanism could comply with the letter of the law but not its spirit, and it may conflict with US law. Neither Google nor Amazon responded to questions about whether they had used the secret code since the Nimbus contract came into effect.
The deal also includes provisions that allow Israel to migrate any content data it wishes to the cloud or generate in the cloud without restrictions. This provision was inserted to avoid a situation where the companies "decide that a certain customer is causing them damage, and therefore cease to sell them services".
so like they have this secret deal where if they disclose any israeli data 2 foreign authorities they gotta send $1k or $3k or $100k to the israeli gov lol what kinda game is that? 
i know it's not supposed 2 be a big deal but still it feels kinda shady 
like how can u just bribe ur way out of obeying laws?? 
and also what if google & amazon just decide 2 stop selling services 2 some customer cuz they're causin them trouble? that sounds super sketchy 
anyone think this is a good idea or am i just being paranoid 
. It's like they're saying "hey, we'll sell you data, just don't ask us any questions" 
. Can't say I trust this deal one bit 
. But scratch beneath the surface, and it's like... what's really going on? Are these companies just being super cool about letting Israel get away with some shady stuff 
? I don't know, man. It's a tough one to wrap my head around 
. Maybe we can even use some of these "winking" signals to our advantage 
).
. They agreed to do business with Israel in the first place, so yeah, there's gonna be some give-and-take. The fact that they have to send coded messages when Israel gets all bent outta shape is just a way for them to maintain control and avoid actual accountability 
. But I guess it's business as usual in Israel... and apparently with Google and Amazon too 
.
. I guess when you're dealing with sensitive info, it's all about who's got the power 
.
. How do we know Google and Amazon aren't just being blackmailed into playing along?
. Like, they're basically giving Israel a way to avoid legal obligations altogether 
. And the fact that they have to pay fines in shekels (like what even is that?) when they "forget" to send those coded signals 
.
. The fact that Israeli officials thought they could sneak around US and European laws is wild 
. This whole thing reeks of corruption and abuse of power 
.
. We need more transparency and accountability in our tech giants, not more ways for governments to hide behind them 
.