The Iran War Is Bringing a New Target Into Focus: Data Centers

The Iran war is drawing attention to a growing vulnerability in modern conflicts: digital infrastructure. Data centers, which power cloud computing and host critical online services, are increasingly seen as potential targets in wartime.

On March 2, Amazon said drone strikes physically impacted two of its data center facilities in the United Arab Emirates and one in Bahrain. According to Amazon Web Services (AWS), the strikes caused structural damage and disrupted power delivery at some facilities. The company advised customers to activate disaster-recovery plans and rely on remote backups stored in other regions.

Following the incidents, temporary disruptions were reported across several digital services in the UAE, including some banking platforms, payment systems, taxi apps and delivery services.

Separate reporting also suggested that digital infrastructure inside Iran had been targeted. According to the nonprofit Holistic Resilience, U.S. and Israeli strikes hit at least two data centers in Tehran.

Analysts warn that as economies rely more on cloud computing, artificial intelligence and digital connectivity, these facilities could become increasingly attractive targets in conflict.

Even brief outages at major data centers can ripple across financial services, government systems and large parts of the global economy.