Bahrain: Amazon has confirmed that its Amazon Web Services (AWS) cloud computing region in Bahrain has been disrupted following drone activity linked to the intensifying conflict in the Middle East. This marks the second major incident to hit the tech giant’s regional infrastructure in less than 30 days, raising serious concerns over the safety of global digital assets in conflict zones.

According to a report by Reuters, an Amazon spokesperson stated that the disruption occurred on Monday night. While the company has not yet confirmed if the data center facility was a direct target or impacted by nearby explosions, the instability has forced a massive shift in how businesses in the region are operating.

In an urgent statement, Amazon advised all customers with active workloads in the affected Bahrain region to immediately migrate their data to alternate AWS locations.

"As this situation evolves and, as we have advised before, we request those with workloads in the affected regions continue to migrate to other locations," the company said.

AWS is currently assisting its clients, which include major banks, government agencies, and global enterprises, in shifting their operations to safer regions. Amazon has not yet disclosed the full extent of the structural or digital damage, nor has it provided a timeline for when services might return to normal.

The growing risk to tech infrastructure

According to Reuters, this is the second time drone activity has affected AWS infrastructure in the region since the outbreak of the US-Israel war on Iran. Earlier this month, AWS facilities in Bahrain and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) experienced power outages after being impacted by military activity.

Reuters previously reported that the strike on the UAE facility marked the first known instance of military action disrupting a major US technology company's data centre.

At the time, Amazon said the damage was significant and warned of a "prolonged" recovery period. "These strikes have caused structural damage, disrupted power delivery to our infrastructure, and in some cases required fire suppression activities that resulted in additional water damage," AWS said on its status page earlier this month, according to Reuters.

Amazon had also noted that the Bahrain region had been affected by a drone strike in proximity to one of its facilities, according to Reuters.

ANI inputs