From PCMAG · Will McCurdy · · 50s
Iran Drone Strikes Cause Permanent Data Loss in Middle East
Iranian strikes permanently erase cloud data in Bahrain and UAE
In brief
Iranian strikes permanently erase cloud data in Bahrain and UAE AWS customers in Bahrain lost all data while UAE customers only lost one availability zone Originally reported by PCMAG.
Cloud Data Vulnerable
Amazon AWS customers in Bahrain and UAE lost permanent data after Iranian strikes began in March.
“After a thorough assessment, we have determined that we are unable to restore access to the resources and data hosted exclusively in this Region”
Bahrain More Affected
AWS couldn't restore access in all three Bahrain availability zones versus one in UAE.
Data Recovery Efforts
Most AWS customers migrated data before strikes and restored operations using backups.
Financial Impact
AWS paid $150 million in credits to Middle East customers due to attacks.
Warzone Risk
Data centers are now secondary military targets after Iran and Russia strike infrastructure.
In short
AWS customers in Bahrain lost all data while UAE customers only lost one availability zone
