Experts Back 25-Year-Old Tech as Cyber Threats Bypass Obsolete Systems

3 articles · Updated · BBC.com · Aug 24

Older tools can sometimes reduce cyber risk because criminals usually target widely used modern systems, not niche legacy software run by a handful of users.
Mikko Hyppönen said he kept using unsupported Eudora email for years because attackers had largely forgotten it, while Matt Bishop saw a 1990s honeypot draw attacks only after it was upgraded.
That logic is also shaping infrastructure choices: Ireland has slowed replacement of ground radio beacons after repeated GPS jamming, keeping them as part of a resilience strategy.
Military and data-storage examples point the same way — paper maps and compasses cannot be jammed, eLoran’s 1-megawatt signal is harder to disrupt, and magnetic tape remains valuable against ransomware.
Experts still say fully patched current software is safest for everyday use, but argue older or analogue systems can be the better trade-off in high-risk or disruption-prone settings.