Iran strike damages Amazon cloud infrastructure in Bahrain
What's the story
Iran has targeted Amazon's cloud computing operations in Bahrain, according to a report by Financial Times. The attack occurred at the headquarters of Batelco, Bahrain's largest telecom operator and host of Amazon Web Services infrastructure. The incident follows threats from Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) to strike US tech firms in the Middle East, including Apple and Google.
Service disruption
AWS services disrupted due to ongoing Middle East conflict
Last week, Amazon had announced that its AWS services in Bahrain were disrupted due to the ongoing Middle East conflict. This was the second instance this month that Amazon's operations were impacted by the war. An Amazon spokesperson had confirmed that drone activity in the area caused the disruption and said they are working on migrating customers to other AWS regions while Bahrain recovers.
Retaliation threat
IRGC warns US tech firms of potential retaliation
The IRGC had warned that US tech firms could face retaliation for their role in targeting Iranian officials. The warning included 18 companies such as Intel, Microsoft, Oracle, Tesla, Palantir and NVIDIA. The statement said companies that actively participate in terrorist designs will face reciprocal action for every targeted assassination. It also advised residents near these companies to evacuate within a one-kilometer radius of their locations.