While cloud computing could leave modern computer equipment exposed to attack on navy vessels, the US authorities have decided to go old school and look to the heavens for a solution – and will now start teaching celestial navigation to its recruits.

The Naval Academy stopped teaching using the position of the stars as a directional tool just before the end of the 20^th century, have ruled that the hard-to-learn skill had become redundant at a time when satellites and GPS can track a ship’s location with exact precision and ease.

But as the world’s superpowers continue to fight a digital cold war, along with hacking groups like Anonymous flexing their might, those satellites are increasingly vulnerable.

So now the academy is to reinstate celestial navigation back into the curriculum. Wooden crates holding decades-old instruments will be taken out of storage, and student sailors will once again learn to chart a course by using the position of the stars in the sky.

As a tool, celestial navigation does pale in comparison with modern technology, as it is far less precise and much more arduous to operate. At best, it can get you to within 2.4km of where you need to go, which could be a matter of life or death in modern warfare.

In order to restructure the programme, the US Navy will ask for help from the US Merchant Marine Academy, which still teaches the practice. According to instructor Timothy Tisch, “Knowledge of celestial navigation in the GPS era provides a solid back-up form of navigation in the event GPS becomes unreliable for whatever reason. It is also good professional practice to use one navigational system to verify the accuracy of another.”

The Naval Academy’s class of 2017 will be the first to look to the heavens with the re-taught skill.