America must defend our digital infrastructure, here and overseas, to win the next war
U.S. Calls for Protection of “Critical Digital Infrastructure” After Iranian Attacks on Amazon Cloud Centers
WASHINGTON, D.C. – In the spring of 2024, Iranian forces struck Amazon Web Services (AWS) data centers in the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain, prompting Reuters to report that the damage disrupted cloud services and lengthened recovery times. In April, the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps publicly claimed that it had targeted an Amazon cloud‑computing facility in Bahrain. The attacks, which “did not simply hit a commercial facility caught in the crossfire,” according to U.S. officials, underscore a growing vulnerability: much of America’s economic and military power now rests on privately owned, foreign‑located digital infrastructure.
The Iranian Strike
- March 2024: Iranian drones and missiles damaged AWS data centers in the UAE and Bahrain, causing power and connectivity disruptions.
- April 2024: The Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps issued a public claim that it had targeted an Amazon cloud facility in Bahrain.
Reuters confirmed that the attacks caused service outages and a protracted recovery process, while the U.S. Department of Defense noted that the facilities supported a wide range of commercial and potentially military applications.
Why It Matters
“Our enemies found a weakness in essential technology. We must fix it … fast.” The U.S. has long defended borders in the physical sense—territories, ports, military bases—but the modern battlefield extends into the cloud. Millions of Americans rely on cloud services for banking, healthcare, logistics, and communications, and the military increasingly depends on commercial cloud platforms for logistics, intelligence analysis, and command and control.
Artificial intelligence (AI) has amplified this reliance. “AI is becoming an ever‑more important component of intelligence analysis, cybersecurity, logistics, communications, autonomous systems, military planning, and economic competition.” A cyber‑attack or physical sabotage that cripples a data center could therefore ripple across critical national functions.
Congressional and Executive Response
The Trump administration recognized the strategic value of digital infrastructure in its June 2026 National Security Presidential Memorandum on AI, which urged the national‑security enterprise to accelerate AI adoption and strengthen public‑private partnerships. Building on that directive, lawmakers are now exploring a framework to identify and protect “exceptionally important” U.S.-owned or U.S.-controlled digital assets.
Key elements of the proposed framework include:
- Designation of Critical Digital Infrastructure – A narrow, rigorously vetted list of facilities whose destruction would threaten national security or economic stability.
- Ownership and Control Standards – Companies would need to demonstrate U.S. ownership or control, robust cybersecurity practices, physical security, supply‑chain integrity, redundancy, and cooperation with national‑security agencies.
- Deterrence Measures – Congress would establish a range of responses—sanctions, asset freezes, diplomatic pressure, defensive cyber operations, and, if necessary, other measures authorized by law—to deter hostile actions against designated sites.
“The designation would not turn a data center in Bahrain into sovereign American territory,” said one analyst. “But it would establish a clear American policy that deliberately attacking certain strategically vital infrastructure carries consequences.”
A Broader Threat Landscape
The Iranian attacks are not an isolated incident. Russian and Chinese cyber capabilities have been used to target critical infrastructure abroad, while Iran has repeatedly demonstrated its willingness to use both cyber and kinetic means to disrupt U.S. interests. “Adversaries understand that attacking the United States does not necessarily require attacking an American military installation.” The threat can come from a power grid, a telecommunications network, a financial system, or the computing infrastructure that powers them.
The Biden administration’s Office of Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Communications highlighted that “computing capacity is becoming part of national power. Protecting it needs to become part of national defense.”
Balancing Security and Private Ownership
Proponents of the designation argue that it will not turn every data center into a national‑security facility, nor will it give private companies an unchecked “blank check” for protection. Instead, the focus would be on a relatively small number of facilities whose loss would have a disproportionate impact. Critics raise concerns about the potential for increased government oversight of private infrastructure and the risk of politicizing the designation process.
Looking Ahead
The attacks on Amazon’s cloud centers have spurred a renewed debate over how America defines its borders in the digital age. While traditional defense structures—bases, ships, aircraft—remain essential, the reality is that servers, networks, and data centers are now the backbone of both the economy and military readiness. A future conflict could begin not with a missile strike but with a cyber‑attack that severs the computing lifeline of a nation.
“The next major attack on American interests may not begin with troops crossing a border or missiles striking a military installation. It could begin with the loss of computing capacity, the disruption of a communications network or the failure of a system most Americans have never heard of but millions depend upon.”
As Congress deliberates on the proposed designation, the U.S. faces a strategic choice: to extend its defense posture to protect the digital infrastructure that underpins modern society or to leave a growing vulnerability unaddressed. The outcome will shape how the nation deters future attacks and safeguards its economic and national security interests in an increasingly interconnected world.