The Science of Secrecy

Episode one examines the case of Mary Queen of the Scots. A curious cipher in her correspondences resulted in a charge of treason in 1586 for plotting to assassinate Elizabeth I.

Episode two dives into the race to decipher the incredible and beautiful hieroglyphics of ancient Egypt, discovered at the dawn of the 19th century.

Episode two profiles mid-19th century inventor and mathematician Charles Babbage, who was challenged to crack a particularly resilient code. This code is none other than the famous Vigenère cipher, which had been left unbreakable for 300 years.

In episode four, a deep and brilliant history of codes is examined. More importantly, we explore the cracking of an encoded telegram from the German foreign minister to the president of Mexico during World War I.

Episode five examines public-key cryptosystems, which have been further developed into a cipher known as RSA (Rivest, Shamir and Leonard). Using prime numbers and algorithmic systems, RSA is used for secure data transmission across the globe.