The Evolution of Encryption
1586 CE - England
The Babington Plot in England is one of the earliest examples of the power of decrypting sensitive communications. The British counter-intelligence led by Sir Francis Walsingham uncovered a plot led by Sir Anthony Babington to overthrow Queen Elizabeth I. Walsingham had a double agent in place and intercepted the conspirators correspondences and decoded them. Mary Queen of Scots who would have replaced Elizabeth was fully implicated and executed the following year.
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