Cisco faces scrutiny over Israel ties, with vote expected in December

The Guardian corrected its report on November 10, 2026, to say Cisco shareholders were expected to vote in December on a proposal for an independent human-rights assessment. The vote is part of wider scrutiny of Cisco’s Israel business, which also includes reports of repeated failures in networks serving Israeli military intelligence and a company response to an employment-rights finding.

What the reports say about the network failures

The Guardian reported that leaked Cisco documents described outages lasting hours, repeated system crashes and failures in built-in diagnostic tools affecting Israeli military-intelligence networks. Employees familiar with the problems told the outlet that access to military data was endangered. Cisco mobilized senior staff and technical teams and sent personnel to meet the Israeli military unit Sapir at a secure site. The reported problems were resolved sometime between 2024 and summer 2025.

The Guardian reported that a 2025 document attributed about $67 million in business over three years to Israeli military-intelligence contracts. That figure covers business across the period, not a single contract.

Revenue figures distinguish the total business from defense revenue

Calcalist reported that Cisco Israel’s total revenue was $283 million in 2024. For the first half of 2024, it reported about $150 million in total revenue, including about $98 million from Israel’s Ministry of Defense. In the first half of 2025, the corresponding figures were $115 million and $42 million.

Calculated from those reported amounts, Cisco Israel’s total revenue declined by $35 million, or about 23.3%, between the two half-year periods. Ministry of Defense revenue fell by $56 million, or about 57.1%. The figures measure different parts of the business, and the Ministry’s revenue fell more sharply.

Keep the two measures separate: Cisco Israel’s overall revenue and its Ministry of Defense revenue changed at different rates.

The reported employment-rights finding and Cisco’s response

The Guardian reported that the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission found reasonable cause to believe Cisco had overseen a hostile work environment violating Palestinian, Arab and Muslim employees’ rights. The Guardian also reported that Cisco disagreed with the finding and said it was committed to equal opportunity.

Shareholders were expected to vote in December

Azzad Asset Management proposed an independent human-rights assessment of Cisco’s business relationships, and Cisco’s board opposed the proposal, according to Calcalist. The Guardian’s November 10 correction put the expected shareholder vote in December 2026.