Amazon Data Centers are now potential targets of extremist attacks, according to the police. As Variety reports, the FBI has stopped Texas resident Seth Aaron Pendley for planning to blow up an Amazon Web Services data center in Virginia. Pendley reportedly revealed to an undercover agent that he was planning to use plastic explosives to destroy data centers in an attempt to “kill” most of the websites and government institutions he said were part of ” the oligarchy ”in the United States.
The Justice Department called Pendley a national extremist. He claimed to have been present at the Capitol riot on January 6, and the FBI first heard of his plans shortly afterwards after a tipster warned of “alarming statements” he said. had made on a pro-militia web forum. The accused expected people to die in the attacks.
Pendley could serve up to 20 years in prison if convicted.
Amazon said in a statement that it takes data center security “incredibly seriously”.
It comes while Talking sues Amazon to clear AWS’s social network, although it’s not clear that the two are related.
The supposed plot highlights the internet’s dependence on AWS and the possible consequences if an attack is successful. As many have discovered, problems in Amazon data centers can cause breakdowns for a multitude of services, including tech giants like Adobe. The Pendley attack would have disrupted the Internet for many people, not just federal agencies. It also suggests that physical security may be increasingly important to data centers now that terrorists see them as possible targets.
