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Opinion
Timothy L. O'Brien

America’s Most Secretive Utility Is Amazon Web Services

The company’s digital backbone is so vital that the public deserves greater insight into its operations when the network is attacked or goes haywire.

This isn’t critical, but the network that talks to it is.

This isn’t critical, but the network that talks to it is.

Photographer: Douglas McFadd/Getty Images

Amazon.com Inc.’s ubiquitous cloud-computing network, the spine for a lot of digital communications and transactions across the U.S., went dark for several hours on Tuesday.

Here are some things that might have freaked you out: