Iranian drones hit Amazon data centers

On September 15, Amazon admitted Iranian drone strikes damaged data centers in the UAE and Bahrain, leaving customer data permanently inaccessible across multiple availability zones.

“unable to restore access to the resources and data hosted”

Strikes began in March, causing structural damage

The first Iranian attacks in March damaged infrastructure, disrupted power delivery, and triggered fire suppression activities that caused additional water damage to Amazon facilities.

“structural damage, disrupted power delivery to our infrastructure”

April brought another major service disruption

Iranian drones struck Amazon data centers in Bahrain again in April, causing a major service disruption that further impacted customer access.

Data centers exceed damage design limits

Amazon acknowledged the damage spanned multiple availability zones and exceeded what regional and multi-AZ services were designed to withstand, exposing a critical infrastructure gap.

“exceeded what our regional and multi-AZ services are designed to withstand”

Gulf states revising AI infrastructure plans

Following the latest attacks, UAE officials announced they were revising AI data center expansion plans, signaling how geopolitical instability is disrupting major tech investments.

Warzone proximity creates major vulnerability

The strikes highlight how critical digital infrastructure near active conflict zones has become a major vulnerability, giving hostile forces leverage over global tech operations.