AWS Region in Bahrain Disrupted by Drone Activity, Second Incident in a Month

Amazon Web Services (AWS), the cloud computing arm of Amazon, has reported disruptions to its region in Bahrain due to drone activity. This marks the second time in just a month that AWS operations have been affected by the ongoing conflict in the Middle East, specifically related to the U.S.-Israeli war on Iran. According to Amazon, the disruption happened on Monday, March 23, and while the company hasn’t provided specifics on whether the Bahrain facility was directly hit or if it was due to nearby strikes, they are actively assisting customers in migrating their workloads to alternative AWS regions. The recent incident mirrors an earlier this month event where facilities in Bahrain and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) experienced power outages, leading Amazon to anticipate a “prolonged” recovery due to structural damage and water damage caused by fire suppression activities. This disruption is particularly significant as AWS is a crucial driver of Amazon’s profits and supports numerous well-known websites and government operations worldwide. The company is advising customers to proactively migrate workloads out of the affected region as the situation evolves. The continuing incidents underscore the vulnerability of critical infrastructure in a region experiencing heightened geopolitical tensions.