Our Analog Future: Experts Call for Preserving Copper, Pneumatic Systems as Hedge for Cyber Risk

The MITRE researchers argue that the U.S. should preserve and maintain legacy analog infrastructure and human expertise—such as copper-wire telephony, pneumatic pump controls, and alternative navigation systems like e-LORAN—to provide failover capabilities if converged IP-based critical systems (water, power, communications, transportation, emergency services) are disrupted by cyber attacks or other events. The article highlights risks from increasing digital dependence, examples like radio-frequency attacks on sirens, and recommends training, parts preservation, and modest government investment to retain analog skills and systems as a national-security hedge.