Key Points
- Amazon Web Services (AWS) reports fire at one UAE data centre caused by unidentified objects.
- Outages affected part of the cloud region; other zones continued operating.
- No official confirmation links the incident to any military action, though it coincides with regional tensions.
ISLAMABAD: Amazon Web Services, the cloud computing arm of Amazon, the US tech and e-commerce giant, confirmed that one of its data centres in the United Arab Emirates was struck by unidentified objects
The hitting incident resulted in a fire and localised power shutdowns. The incident caused outages in parts of the UAE cloud region, according to the statement issued by the multinational American company.
AWS clarified that the fire was limited to the specific zone hit, and other zones within the facility continued operating normally.
The company has declined to confirm any connection between the incident and the ongoing regional military conflict between Iran and the US-Israel alliance.
Some reports suggest the event occurred amid Iran’s retaliatory drone and missile strikes across the Gulf region.
However, no official source has confirmed the cause as a military strike. Analysts have noted that disruptions at critical cloud infrastructure can have immediate ripple effects on businesses reliant on AWS services, raising concerns over the fragility of digital infrastructure during geopolitical crises.
Experts caution that while the timing may be coincidental, it highlights the potential vulnerabilities of data centres in conflict zones.
AWS facilities are organised into regions and zones. Each region may have multiple zones, which operate independently to ensure resilience. In this case, only the specific zone affected experienced outages; other zones in the United Arab Emirates continued providing services, minimising broader disruptions.
