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Banking, payments, enterprise and consumer services in the UAE suffered an outage earlier this week. AWS On Sunday, an Amazon Web Services data center in the country was damaged by an Iranian drone attack.
While many apps are back online after companies scrambled to migrate servers, the downtime for services many people use on a daily basis highlights how digital infrastructure has become a strategic target.
After the United States and Israel launched a joint attack on Iran over the weekend, Tehran launched a series of retaliatory attacks targeting military bases, oil and gas production facilities, and data centers across the Middle East.
By some estimates, there are more than 200 of these facilities across the Middle East, where cheap energy and land have drawn American hyperscalers in recent years to pour resources into increasing production capacity in the region.
“Iran and its proxies have targeted oil fields in the past, but this week’s attack on data centers in the UAE shows they are now considered critical infrastructure,” said Patrick J. Murphy, executive director of geopolitics at advisory firm Hilco Global.
Guests look at a model of the UAE’s largest data center being built in Abu Dhabi as part of the Stargate Initiative, a joint venture between G42, Microsoft and OpenAI, during the Abu Dhabi International Petroleum Exhibition and Conference (ADIPEC) in Abu Dhabi on November 3, 2025 (Photo: Giuseppe CACACE/AFP) (Photo: GIUSEPPE CACACE/AFP via Getty Images)
Giuseppe Cacasse | AFP | Getty Images
critical infrastructure
AWS announced on Monday that two of its facilities in the UAE were hit by drones, and one in Bahrain was also damaged in a nearby attack.
The latter was targeted by Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps for supporting US forces, Iranian state media reported on Wednesday.
Businesses using AWS servers in the UAE have been advised to move to an alternative region in a hurry to minimize disruption. As of Friday morning, AWS was still reporting that its services in the country were “interrupted.”
In recent years, governments have increasingly recognized the strategic importance of data centers. The United States recognizes these as part of 16 critical infrastructure areas. The UK designated them as critical national infrastructure in 2024. And the EU also gives them special status. Many other countries in Europe and further afield also classify data centers as critical.
However, the recent escalation of drone warfare has put new scrutiny on the security of the infrastructure that supports digital life around the world.
Hilco Global’s Murphy said Iran’s targeting of data centers in the Middle East could prompt more governments to “incorporate data centers into the framework of their national security plans, alongside energy facilities, communications networks, water treatment plants and transportation hubs.”
AWS, microsoft and google He declined to comment on security measures at data center sites in the region as a result of the conflict.
While many digital services have been restored in recent days, the Iranian drone attack could sharpen the focus on multi-region replication and backup options, Scott Tyndall, a partner in the infrastructure and energy team at law firm Hogan Lovells, told me.
He said “sophisticated data center operators” already carry out detailed geopolitical risk assessments, but these will need to be “reconsidered in light of recent events”.
Latest updates
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Technology companies operating in the Middle East are scrambling to respond as conflict spreads across the region.
Xiaomi plans to launch new smartphone processor chips every year, company president Lu Weibing told CNBC, underscoring the company’s ambitions to expand into more sophisticated technology areas.
How Iran’s Shahid drone, dubbed the “poor man’s cruise missile” by some analysts, is shaping Iran’s retaliation.
Quote of the week
OpenAI CEO Sam Altman speaks during a media tour of the Stargate Data Center in Abilene, Texas, on September 23, 2025. Stargate is a joint venture between OpenAI, Oracle and SoftBank that is building data centers and other artificial intelligence infrastructure across the United States with promotional support from President Donald Trump.
Kyle Grillot | Bloomberg | Getty Images
Quote: OpenAI CEO Sam Altman said Monday that the company “should not have rushed” the recent deal with the Pentagon, adding that it “looked opportunistic and sloppy.”
The big picture: On Friday, OpenAI announced a new contract with the Department of Defense.
The move came just hours after a dispute between the anthropology secretary and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth over protection provisions for AI systems ended with President Donald Trump ordering U.S. government agencies to “immediately cease” use of the company’s technology.
Days later, Altman said the company would amend OpenAI’s contract with the department to include new language regarding principles on topics such as surveillance.
