Amid ongoing tensions in the Middle East, the nature of the conflict appears to be taking an even more dangerous turn. This time, the target is not missiles or soldiers, but the world’s big tech companies. Iran has claimed that it has attacked an Oracle data center located in UAE. If this claim proves true, it would indicate that digital infrastructure has now become an integral part of modern warfare.
Iran’s claim and UAE’s silence
Iran’s Revolutionary Guards (IRGC) have said they targeted an Oracle data center in Dubai. However, there has been no official confirmation of this attack from the UAE yet. As a result, the situation remains somewhat unclear, although the claim has certainly raised concerns on the international stage.
Why was Oracle targeted?
According to reports, Oracle has close relations with the US Department of Defense. Additionally, the company’s founder, Larry Ellison, is known to have strong ties to Israel. For these reasons, Iran considers Oracle a key target and calls it directly involved in the conflict.
Growing threat to American tech companies
Iran has already made it clear that it can target American technology companies. Apart from Oracle, this list includes big companies like Intel, Amazon, Meta, Microsoft, Apple and Google. At present, there is no news of any major damage or service disruption affecting Oracle’s operations, nor has the company issued any official statement on the matter.
Signs of earlier attack on Amazon
The most important thing in this whole incident is that such news is coming out which shows that a data center of Amazon Web Services (AWS) has already been attacked. It is being told that AWS’s cloud operations in Bahrain were damaged, due to which many digital services were disrupted. Prior to this incident, several data centers in the UAE and Bahrain had been hit by drone attacks.
18 American companies on Iran’s target
Iran has recently issued a direct warning to 18 American companies. This list includes tech giants like Apple, Microsoft, Google, Amazon, IBM and Intel. The IRGC has even labeled these organizations as terrorist organizations, and said that their offices and infrastructure could be targeted in attacks. Employees have also been warned to vacate their workplaces.
Why is the nature of war changing?
Iran alleges that these tech companies are helping in military and intelligence operations of America and Israel. In particular, cloud computing, AI and data infrastructure are now being seen as digital weapons. For this reason, data centers—once a part of the technology world—are slowly turning into a battlefield.