Amazon uses a Seinfeld pseudonym to hide a datacenter, per WikiLeaks

Harley McEvoy/Youtube

• WikiLeaks has published the exact location of over 100 of Amazon’s data centers for the first time ever on Thursday.
• Previously, only the general area of these data centers was known for security reasons. 
• The report shows that Amazon often uses pseudonyms to hide their presence, including one data center in Manassas, Virginia where Amazon is known as “Vandelay Industries” — a nod to Seinfeld fans. 
•  All Amazon employees at the Manassas-based data center wear Vandelay Industry badges and use the Canstanza-imagined company name in all correspondence with the building manager. 

WikiLeaks has published the exact location of over 100 of Amazon’s data centers for the first time on Thursday. Previously, only the general area of these data centers was known for security reasons. 

WikiLeaks reports that to keep these locations secretive, Amazon uses various pseudonyms for each facility.

Most notably, at its IAD77 data center in Manassas, Virginia, Amazon is known as “Vandelay Industries” — a nod to George Costanza and his unforgettable shenanigans at the unemployment office in Season 3 of Seinfeld. 

According to the WikiLeaks report, all Amazon employees at the IAD77 data center wear Vandelay Industry badges and use the Costanza-imagined company name in all correspondence with the building manager. 

There are 38 data centers located in Virginia alone and several in the Bay Area and near Seattle, according to the leaked report. Amazon has centers spread around the world in Europe, Asia, South America, Australia as well. 

WikiLeaks published a map pinpointing the precise location of Amazon’s identified data centers along with the report. 

The WikiLeaks report notes that Amazon is the largest cloud provider for US intelligence community and is currently bidding on a $10 billion contract to build a private cloud for the Department of Defense. The bids for that contract are due on Friday. 

Amazon did not immediately return a request for comment.