news tech single source: Ars Technica

Cloud Collapse: War Damage Leaves Amazon Unable to Restore Critical Customer Data

Amazon cannot recover customer data lost during Iranian drone attacks on data centers.

Half a year after Iranian drone and missile strikes hammered multiple Amazon data centers, the reality is stark: parts of customer data stored in Bahrain and the UAE are permanently gone. According to an AWS dashboard update released on September 15, the technology giant has admitted it cannot restore access to resources damaged in those war-torn facilities.

The extent of the damage appears catastrophic. In the UAE region alone, customer data has been irretrievably lost within one of its three availability zones, specifically mec1-az2. AWS confirmed that the physical damage extended across multiple Availability Zones, surpassing what their standard regional and multi-Availability Zone services were built to handle.

The disruptions didn't happen in isolation. Initial strikes occurred on March 1 against sites in both Bahrain and the UAE. Following that first assault, AWS pushed hard for customers to move workloads elsewhere and rely on offsite backups, reportedly issuing $150 million in credits afterward.

A subsequent strike targeted Bahrain on April 1. Even later, on July 24, Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps fired missiles directly at a remaining structure in Bahrain, damage verified by satellite photos.

While AWS noted the disruption in Bahrain earlier this year, they pointed out that most clients had already complied with their advice to relocate computing loads. Now, looking ahead, AWS states it remains dedicated to long-term support for its Bahrain customers but promises no substantive update until early 2027 while working to replace the destroyed infrastructure.