"Microsoft, Zoom Halt Work with Blacklisted Tech Firm Sandvine", 24 April 2024

Several major US technology companies have cut ties with the networking equipment firm Sandvine after it was blacklisted by the US government.

In February, the US Commerce Department added Sandvine to an Entity List, punishing the private equity-owned company for providing “mass web-monitoring and censorship” technology to the Egyptian government.

The designation effectively banned Sandvine from obtaining US technology. Now, in a sign that it’s beginning to take effect, Salesforce, Microsoft, Zoom, Dell and Intel have recently severed business relationships with Sandvine...

The inability to use services and technologies provided by these companies poses major challenges for Sandvine and its ability to function, according to the people, who said that components from Dell and Intel are integral to many Sandvine products. Employees had used Zoom as a daily communication tool, and many Microsoft products, such as Windows, were installed as standard on employees’ work computers. Moreover, Salesforce was an essential platform the company’s sales team had used to plan deals

Sandvine didn’t respond to requests for comment. A company spokesperson previously said that it was working closely with US government officials to “understand, address and resolve their concerns.”

A spokesperson for Zoom confirmed the company had terminated its contract with Sandvine. A spokesperson for Intel declined to comment on specific relationships, but said that it “complies with all applicable export regulations in the countries in which it operates.” A spokesperson for Dell said it “has a process in place to ensure that it does not engage in any restricted activity with designated entities.” Neither Salesforce nor Microsoft responded to requests for comment.

Sandvine sells what’s known as deep-packet inspection technology, which can be used to monitor massive flows of internet traffic passing between networks. The technology can be customized to block out spam and viruses. But it can also be deployed to block millions of websites and messaging apps and carry out covert surveillance of internet activity.

Over a period of several years, Sandvine struck controversial deals with several autocratic governments.