● Covered by 3 sources · 3 reportsMedium impact3 negative
AWS confirms permanent data loss in UAE data center after drone strikes, advises migration
Key points
- AWS confirmed permanent data loss in UAE's mec1-az2 Availability Zone.
- Damage occurred six months ago due to drone strikes in UAE and Bahrain.
- Customers are advised to migrate applications to other AWS regions.
- AWS is working on replacing affected infrastructure, no full restoration timeline.
- The company is still recovering resources in other affected zones.
- AWS cannot restore data held exclusively in Middle East (Bahrain) me-south-1 region.
- Damage in Bahrain exceeded AWS's regional and multi-AZ redundancy capabilities.
- AWS is still recovering zonal resources in mec1-az1 and mec1-az3.
Permanent Data Loss Confirmed
Amazon Web Services (AWS) has acknowledged the permanent loss of some customer data hosted in its data centers in the United Arab Emirates. This confirmation comes six months after drone strikes impacted AWS facilities in Abu Dhabi and Bahrain. Specifically, AWS stated it is "unable to restore access to the resources and data" exclusively located in the mec1-az2 Availability Zone in the UAE.
Ongoing Recovery and Customer Guidance
AWS is continuing efforts to recover regional resources and zonal resources in the other affected Availability Zones, mec1-az1 and mec1-az3. The company has advised customers to re-establish operations in other AWS Regions, suggesting they restore backups or copy accessible data. AWS Support is available to assist customers with migrating their applications.
The company has committed to replacing the affected infrastructure and plans to provide updates on service restoration in the coming months. Relevant authorities have been notified, and AWS is collaborating with them.
Impact on Regional Cloud Services
The damage from the drone strikes reportedly exceeded AWS's redundancy capabilities, preventing full data restoration in the mec1-az2 zone. While AWS remains committed to supporting customers in the UAE, the lack of a definitive timeline for full service restoration and the permanent data loss in one zone signify a notable disruption to regional cloud operations.
Updates
- AWS cannot restore data held exclusively in Middle East (Bahrain) me-south-1 region.
- Damage in Bahrain exceeded AWS's regional and multi-AZ redundancy capabilities.
- AWS is still recovering zonal resources in mec1-az1 and mec1-az3.
✨ This summary was generated by AI from the outlets' reporting listed below. It is not independently verified and may contain errors — check the original sources. How BrevFeed works →
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How outlets covered it
Amazon Web Services informed customers it cannot restore data held exclusively in certain damaged Availability Zones within its Middle East (UAE) and Middle East (Bahrain) regions. The damage, attributed to Iranian drone strikes, exceeded AWS's regional and multi-AZ redundancy capabilities, impacting data for customers who did not replicate it outside these specific zones.
Amazon Web Services (AWS) confirmed the permanent loss of some customer data in its Bahrain and UAE data centers following Iranian drone strikes. The damage affected multiple availability zones, exceeding AWS's redundancy capabilities and preventing full data restoration.
AWS has instructed customers to move their data from its Abu Dhabi and Bahrain data centers to other regions, six months after drone attacks damaged the facilities. The company stated it cannot restore access to one Availability Zone and has not provided a timeline for full service restoration, impacting regional cloud operations.