Leaked documents have revealed that Israel’s $1.2 billion “Project Nimbus” deal with Google and Amazon required both companies to secretly alert Israeli officials whenever foreign courts requested access to Israeli data.
The investigation, carried out by The Guardian, +972 Magazine and Local Call, found that Israeli officials insisted on creating a coded notification system known as the “winking mechanism.”
Under this arrangement, Google and Amazon were reportedly obliged to send hidden messages disguised as monetary payments whenever Israeli data was accessed by foreign authorities. The amounts corresponded to the country code of the nation requesting the data.
For example, a US data request would trigger a 1,000-shekel transfer (reflecting +1), while Italy (+39) would prompt a 3,900-shekel payment. If a gag order prevented disclosure, a lump sum of 100,000 shekels (£23,200) would be sent to signal silence.
Documents from Israel’s finance ministry confirm the inclusion of this system in the final Nimbus contract, requiring the payments to be made within 24 hours of any foreign data disclosure.
Legal and ethical backlash
Legal experts called the mechanism “highly irregular” and possibly unlawful. A former US government lawyer told The Guardian: “It seems awfully cute — but if a US court understood what was happening, I doubt they’d be sympathetic.”
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The system placed Google and Amazon in a legal dilemma: complying with Israel’s demand could violate US law prohibiting companies from revealing sealed subpoenas, while ignoring it would breach their multi-million-dollar contract with Israel.
Critics warned the secret mechanism creates a “grey zone” in which national security interests override due process. Privacy campaigners said it sets a dangerous precedent, potentially allowing states to monitor data disclosures through covert corporate channels.
Project Nimbus and data control
Launched in 2021, “Project Nimbus” was marketed as Israel’s digital modernisation plan. The deal established Israeli-based cloud servers run by Google and Amazon to host data for government ministries, the military and intelligence services.
Although the servers are inside Israel, officials feared foreign courts could still access the data through international legal requests. The winking mechanism was devised as an “insurance policy” to ensure Israel was secretly informed.
A finance ministry memo seen by reporters praised the outcome, stating that the companies “understand the sensitivities of the Israeli government and are willing to accept our requirements.” Both Google and Amazon denied circumventing legal obligations.
A Google spokesperson said: “The idea that we would evade our legal obligations to the US government, or in any other country, is categorically wrong.” The company said the Nimbus contract is bound by its usual terms of service.
Amazon similarly stated: “We have a rigorous global process for responding to lawful and binding orders. We do not have any process to circumvent confidentiality obligations on lawfully binding orders.”
However, neither company denied the existence of the contract clauses, nor confirmed whether the winking system had ever been used.
Shielding Israel from accountability
The leaked documents reveal that Nimbus also prevents Google or Amazon from suspending Israel’s access to cloud services — even if the technology is used for military or intelligence operations that breach ethical or legal standards.
Israeli officials reportedly designed these terms to avoid corporate backlash over alleged human rights abuses in Gaza or the occupied West Bank. Internal correspondence shows concern that tech companies could one day cut ties under pressure from shareholders or rights groups.
In contrast, Microsoft, which lost the Nimbus bid, recently cut access to Israeli military systems using its Azure cloud after discovering it was being used for the surveillance of Palestinians. Under Nimbus, such action would be forbidden and could trigger financial penalties.
Until recently, the Israeli army stored intercepted Palestinian phone calls on Microsoft’s servers, with plans to transfer the data to Amazon Web Services. Amazon declined to say whether it was aware of the transfer.
Experts say cloud-based infrastructure enables militaries to process and act on intelligence at unprecedented speed, intensifying the moral and legal risks of corporate complicity in warfare.
Official responses
Israel’s finance ministry defended the Nimbus deal, saying it “safeguards Israel’s vital interests” and dismissed allegations of illegality as “baseless.”
Google and Amazon maintain that they comply with all applicable laws and that their contracts meet international standards.
Observers warn that Israel’s arrangement could become a model for other governments seeking similar privileges, blurring the line between lawful cooperation and covert surveillance.
The revelations highlight how state power, technology, and corporate interests increasingly converge in the digital era.
For Israel, Project Nimbus secures total control over its data — but for critics, it represents a troubling precedent in which the rule of law is quietly replaced by the rule of code.
