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Amazon Web Services reports permanent data loss after Middle East strikes
Amazon Web Services (AWS) has confirmed the permanent loss of customer data following a series of kinetic attacks on its data centers in the Middle East. The destruction was caused by Iranian drone and missile strikes targeting infrastructure in Bahrain and the United Arab Emirates between March and July.
In the UAE (me-central-1) region, data was lost in one of the three availability zones. The situation is more severe in Bahrain (me-south-1), where AWS reported it is unable to restore data from any of the three availability zones. The attacks included drone strikes on March 1 and a missile strike on July 24 that destroyed the final active building in Bahrain.
AWS has suspended billing for the affected regions and is issuing approximately $150 million in service credits to customers. The company noted that while its multi-availability zone architecture is designed to withstand natural disasters like fires or floods, it was not engineered to survive a sustained military conflict targeting all zones within a single region.
Data migration to safer regions, such as Europe, was hindered for some clients by local data residency laws. In the UAE, for example, regulations mandate that sensitive health sector data must remain within national borders, with violations carrying fines between $100,000 and $200,000.
Entities
Amazon · Amazon Web Services · Bahrain · Iran · United Arab Emirates
Claims
What the coverage asserts, and how many sources carry each claim.
- [● 2 SOURCES] Violating UAE data residency laws can result in fines between $100,000 and $200,000. wojna.co.pl · niebezpiecznik.pl
- [DISPUTED] An Iranian missile destroyed the final active Amazon data center building in Bahrain on July 24. niebezpiecznik.pl
- [○ 1 SOURCE] AWS is unable to restore data from any of the three availability zones in the Bahrain (me-south-1) region. niebezpiecznik.pl
- [● 2 SOURCES] Data residency laws in the UAE prohibit sensitive health sector data from leaving the country. wojna.co.pl · niebezpiecznik.pl
- [● 2 SOURCES] Amazon Web Services admitted that customer data was permanently lost due to kinetic attacks on data centers. wojna.co.pl · niebezpiecznik.pl
- [DISPUTED] Iranian drones struck AWS server facilities in Bahrain and the United Arab Emirates on March 1. niebezpiecznik.pl
- [○ 1 SOURCE] AWS is providing approximately $150 million in service credits to affected customers. niebezpiecznik.pl
- [○ 1 SOURCE] Data was permanently lost in one of the three availability zones in the UAE (me-central-1) region. niebezpiecznik.pl