Data centers have become new strategic targets in the Middle East war

In modern armed confrontation, computing power has become as much a priority for attacks as railways or oil refineries. In recent days, drone strikes have damaged three Amazon facilities in the UAE and Bahrain, while the US and Israel have attacked data centers in Tehran linked to the IRGC. This is reported by Bloomberg, writes UNN.

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Experts note that the attacks on Amazon facilities are not accidental, as the company has a $1.2 billion contract with the Israeli government to provide artificial intelligence services to the army.

Although Microsoft and Google are also present in the region, they more often lease capacity from local operators, making them less obvious targets. Damage to even one node can paralyze the work of banks and government agencies, causing millions of dollars in losses for every minute of downtime.

Data centers are a natural target. If you have one minute of downtime, it can cost any organization millions

The military threat forces technology giants to reconsider security approaches, adding air defense systems to cybersecurity.

Amazon is already recommending customers to create backups in other geographical regions to avoid data loss in case of a direct hit. The conflict jeopardizes the ambitions of Saudi Arabia and the Emirates to become global artificial intelligence centers, as rising insurance premiums and the risks of physical destruction of servers deter investors.

Ports in UAE and Oman hit by drone attacks03.03.26, 12:53 • 31500 views