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Drone Strikes Hit AWS Data Centers In Bahrain And UAE

Incident Overview

Drone strikes reportedly carried out by Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps targeted data centers operated by Amazon Web Services (AWS) in Bahrain and the United Arab Emirates. The attacks occurred amid escalating regional tensions linked to joint U.S.–Israel military operations and have raised concerns about the vulnerability of critical digital infrastructure in the Gulf.

Operational Impact And Damage

Amazon Web Services confirmed that a facility in Bahrain sustained damage following a drone strike in the surrounding area, while two of its data centers in the United Arab Emirates were directly hit. The incidents caused structural damage, power disruptions, and water intrusion after emergency crews intervened to contain sparks and fires.

As a result, several widely used AWS services experienced higher error rates and reduced availability. The company advised customers to back up critical data and, where possible, move workloads to other AWS regions to minimize disruption.

Strategic Considerations For Cloud Customers

Events in Bahrain and the UAE highlight the exposure of digital infrastructure located in geopolitically sensitive regions. AWS launched its Bahrain region in 2019 and supports several public-sector and enterprise workloads across the Middle East. For cloud customers, the incident reinforces the importance of geographic redundancy and diversified infrastructure strategies designed to maintain service continuity during regional disruptions.

Regional Context And Future Implications

Strikes on digital infrastructure come as tensions continue to rise across the Gulf. Analysts view the attacks as part of a broader effort to disrupt operational capabilities in strategic sectors.

Amazon has not provided detailed comments on the incident, though the company’s advisory to customers reflects the potential impact that regional conflicts may have on global cloud services and digital supply chains.

Conclusion

The attacks highlight how regional geopolitical tensions can affect not only energy and transport infrastructure but also critical digital systems. For global technology providers and cloud customers alike, the incident underscores the growing importance of operational resilience, geographic diversification, and risk management in an increasingly unstable security environment.

Passkeys Are The Gold Standard For Account Security. So Why Don’t More Major Apps Offer Them?

Passkeys are increasingly being promoted as one of the most effective ways to protect online accounts. By reducing reliance on passwords, they help prevent phishing attacks, simplify sign-ins and strengthen account security. Despite those advantages, however, many major digital platforms have yet to adopt the technology.

A Security Upgrade Still Missing At Scale

That gap is the focus of whynopasskeys.com, a new site created by security researcher Scott Helme to highlight companies that have not yet enabled passkeys for their users. The site tracks major consumer brands that continue to rely on older login methods even as passkeys become the industry standard.

Among the services still without passkey support are Instagram, Netflix and Spotify, according to the site’s data.

Why Passkeys Matter

Unlike traditional passwords, passkeys are generated on a user’s device and linked both to that device and to a specific website or application. Authentication can be completed through biometrics such as Face ID or Touch ID, a hardware security key or a password manager.

Because users do not need to create or remember passwords, opportunities for credential theft, phishing attacks and password reuse are significantly reduced. In most cases, gaining access to an account would require direct access to the user’s device.

Public Accountability As A Pressure Tactic

In a blog post explaining the project, Helme said the goal is to create pressure by making the absence of passkey support visible. “A list is a surprisingly effective motivator. Nobody wants to be on the list,” he wrote.

That approach has already worked elsewhere in cybersecurity: when businesses are publicly compared against peers on basic protections, they often move faster to close the gap. In this case, the list is intended to push platforms to give users a stronger and simpler login option.

The Companies Moving Faster

Many large technology companies have already adopted passkeys, including Apple, Google and Microsoft, reflecting the technology’s growing role in account security.

Implementation, however, remains uneven. Instagram users can currently access passkeys only when their account is linked to a Facebook account that already has passkey support enabled, highlighting differences in adoption even within the same company.

The Bigger Business Question

Meta has not publicly explained why passkeys are available on some of its platforms, including Facebook and WhatsApp, but not fully across Instagram.

Debate within the industry is no longer centred on whether passkeys work, but on how quickly companies are willing to deploy them. As phishing, credential theft and account fraud remain persistent cybersecurity challenges, passkeys are increasingly being viewed not as an optional feature but as an emerging security standard.

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