An Amazon Web Services data center in the United Arab Emirates caught fire on Sunday after being hit by unidentified “objects,” causing a major disruption to the company’s cloud services in the region. The incident occurred on the same day that Iran launched a series of retaliatory strikes across the Middle East.
AWS confirmed the fire in a post on its Health Dashboard, stating that one of its “Availability Zones” was impacted around 4:30 p.m. local time. “One of our Availability Zones … was impacted by objects that struck the data center, creating sparks and fire,” the company said. The fire department responded and shut off power to the facility as they worked to control the blaze.
While it’s still unclear if the incident is directly related to the escalating conflict between the U.S. and Iran, the timing is highly suspicious. Iran’s retaliation for the killing of its Supreme Leader has involved missile and drone attacks on U.S. bases and allies throughout the region, including the UAE.
AWS said it is working to reroute traffic away from the damaged data center to minimize the disruption. However, the company did not provide an estimated time for when power would be restored to the facility.
This incident is a stark reminder of the vulnerability of the physical infrastructure that powers the internet. As geopolitical tensions rise, the massive data centers that we all rely on are increasingly becoming potential targets.
