On October 20, 2025, a significant outage hit Amazon Web Services (AWS), sending ripples through the digital infrastructure that underpins much of the global economy. The event, which cyber risk analytics provider CyberCube has nicknamed "Amazonk," has drawn considerable attention from insurers, technology firms, and financial services alike, all eager to understand the scope and financial impact of the disruption.
According to a Thursday statement released by CyberCube, the preliminary estimate for insured losses stemming from the AWS outage ranges from $38 million to $581 million. While the range may appear broad, CyberCube emphasized that most scenarios are clustering toward the lower end. The higher figure, they noted, is designed to allow for any additional information that could emerge as investigations continue. "The losses are likely to trend towards the lower end of the estimate," CyberCube stated, as reported by Insurance Insider.
The outage, which lasted several hours, had a far-reaching effect, impacting over 2,000 large organizations and nearly 70,000 organizations in total, according to CyberCube’s analysis. The incident affected a wide array of platforms that millions rely on daily, including Snapchat, Fortnite, Roblox, Atlassian, fintech applications like Coinbase and Venmo, as well as smart-home and IoT services such as Ring. The breadth of disruption underscored just how integral AWS’s cloud infrastructure—particularly its us-east-1 region—is to the operations of modern businesses around the world.
In a Security Incident Report (SIR) published for its clients, CyberCube outlined the industries most affected by the outage. "In terms of industry effects, we see those that depend on high availability being the most affected, including technology and financial services firms," the SIR noted. While the majority of AWS’s us-east-1 customers are based in the United States, the effects were "certainly felt by companies domiciled in the UK, Europe, and elsewhere, given the critical role that us-east-1 plays in AWS’s entire cloud infrastructure."
CyberCube’s response to the outage was swift. The company activated its Cyber Aggregation Event Response Service (CAERS) initial procedures immediately following the incident. This activation allowed CyberCube’s analysts to quickly assess the event’s scope and potential insurance implications. The SIRs produced as part of CAERS provide critical, real-time insights for insurers and risk managers navigating the uncertain aftermath of large-scale cyber incidents.
To assess the potential impacts from the AWS outage, CyberCube relied on its recently released Portfolio Manager Version 6, a tool designed to help insurers and their clients understand how cloud service disruptions might affect entire portfolios of insured organizations. This latest version, launched earlier in 2025, leverages advanced analytics, artificial intelligence, and a robust dataset to provide detailed modeling of cyber risk in financial terms.
One of the standout features of this outage, according to CyberCube’s analysis, is the measured response from the insurance industry. The SIR observed, "Although initial headlines about Amazonk focused on the size and scale of AWS and the sheer number of firms reliant on it, one of the key takeaways from this event should be the levelheadedness with which the insurance industry is able to respond to it. This type of event is something that is modeled, priced for, and underwritten, and is well within insurers’ expectations." In other words, while the outage was disruptive, it did not catch the industry off guard.
CyberCube expects that AWS will act to reimburse companies for the downtime and, in doing so, avoid the prospect of lawsuits. The company’s SIR explains, "In light of the short duration of the event, companies may decide it is not worth the hassle to claim. These considerations would point more in the direction of our Low estimate." This assessment suggests that, despite the headline-grabbing nature of the outage, the actual financial fallout for insurers and affected businesses is likely to be moderate.
The loss ratio impact for cyber insurers is expected to be in the low- to mid-single digits, which aligns with CyberCube’s broader view that the "Amazonk" event presents only moderate insurance impact. This projection is reassuring for both insurers and policyholders, as it indicates that the industry’s risk models are robust enough to absorb such shocks without significant upheaval.
The AWS outage also serves as a stark reminder of the interconnectedness of today’s digital ecosystem. When a major cloud provider like AWS experiences downtime, the effects cascade quickly across industries and geographies. The incident affected not just U.S.-based organizations, but also companies in the UK, Europe, and beyond, all of whom rely on the high availability and resilience of cloud infrastructure.
Platforms such as Snapchat, Fortnite, and Roblox, which cater to millions of users worldwide, experienced notable disruptions, as did services like Coinbase and Venmo that underpin financial transactions for individuals and businesses. Even smart-home systems like Ring, which many rely on for security and convenience, were caught up in the outage. The scope of affected platforms illustrates just how deeply AWS is woven into the fabric of digital life.
CyberCube’s analysis and rapid response highlight the growing importance of cyber risk analytics in today’s insurance landscape. As the leading provider of software-as-a-service cyber risk analytics, CyberCube has established itself as a critical partner for insurance institutions seeking to quantify and manage cyber risk. Founded within Symantec in 2015 and operating independently since 2018, CyberCube now serves clients from offices in San Francisco, New York, Chicago, London, and Tallinn, Estonia.
The company’s mission is clear: to help organizations and society build resilience to cyber risk. Its platform, which combines data, analytics, artificial intelligence, and human expertise, enables insurers to model, price, and underwrite cyber risk with greater confidence and precision. The "Amazonk" event, while disruptive, has provided a real-world test of these capabilities—and, by all accounts, the industry has passed with flying colors.
Looking ahead, the AWS outage is likely to fuel ongoing discussions about cloud resilience, business continuity, and the role of cyber insurance in protecting against digital shocks. For many organizations, the incident will serve as a wake-up call to review their own risk management practices and contingency plans. For insurers, it is another reminder that, while the digital world is fraught with risk, careful modeling and preparation can help weather even the most unexpected storms.
As the dust settles on "Amazonk," one thing is clear: the world’s reliance on cloud infrastructure is only set to grow, and with it, the importance of robust cyber risk analytics and insurance solutions. The lessons learned from this outage will undoubtedly shape the industry’s approach to future incidents, ensuring that resilience remains at the forefront of the digital age.